By Jessica Lambert, Artistic Director
Dear friends,
In these challenging times Amici is working hard to prepare for our coming season. Meeting the challenge of COVID-19 is going to test our ingenuity and resolve but especially after this last week of meetings, I feel confident that Amici has the resilience and creativity to meet this challenge and continue to thrive.
The chamber music community is truly a worldwide fraternity. In the last few weeks all the Amici staff and musicians have been brainstorming with each other and consulting with colleagues around the country and beyond, everyone generously sharing ideas and strategies for our upcoming seasons.
One of the things musicians love doing is planning concerts. The only thing better than planning a concert is playing a concert! Months ago, before the pandemic, we planned our upcoming 12th season with music we love and want to share with you, a season with the variety and depth our audience has come to enjoy. We are still hoping to present our concert season in our beloved home theater, the Richard E. Wildish Community Theater, with our 2021 gala concert at The Shedd Institute next June.
Yet, it makes sense to prepare for a different kind of season. As a three-pillared arts organization centered on performance, education enrichment, and community engagement, we are revamping all those activities for greater adaptability and benefit in the likelihood of further disruptions due to COVID-19. We are creating different levels of contingency plans to match whatever precautions our state health authorities recommend and require. Live streaming concerts and many other methods of performance delivery and community-building are all being considered and strategized.
Amici feels very fortunate to have wonderfully loyal community support and a fiercely dedicated staff and Board of Directors. While we will have to improvise and evolve in the coming year, it is in times like these that we all realize the profound meaning and relevance of the arts in our lives. Amici plans to be here, sharing great chamber music with you and creating great community throughout the coming year.