by Samantha Swann
Spartanburg Philharmonic is taking the leap into the online realm with its first virtual concert Saturday.
Available starting at 7 p.m. Oct. 3, "Ludwig: Heroes & Revolution" is the first of a two part digital concert series to take place this fall.
"We're very excited about them," said Music Director Stefan Sanders. "The digital concert hall, so to speak, is not anything new. It's been going on for a while, some of the large orchestras around the world have developed this platform rather extensively. Filming orchestras, for video performances and content is nothing new, but it's certainly new for the Spartanburg Philharmonic."
Sanders said that even after the pandemic began, record-numbers of people were still buying subscriptions and the philharmonic wanted to be able to provide music for them, while still being safe.
There are also safety procedures for the musicians, which has limited the number of musicians they can have on stage together to 44, about half as many as they usually have.