Cleveland - The Cleveland Orchestra announced Friday the cancellation of its scheduled performances across the summer in July, August, and early September due to the continuing Covid-19 crisis.
The cancellations include the Orchestra’s 2020 Blossom Music Festival at its summer home, Blossom Music Center, as well as the Summers@Severance series of concerts at Severance Hall in Cleveland. In addition, the Orchestra’s annual free “Star-Spangled Spectacular” concert in downtown Cleveland, usually presented around the Fourth-of-July holiday, is being rescheduled to a future date.
“Given the current state of the pandemic, and so as to ensure the health of everyone in The Cleveland Orchestra’s community and beyond, it is with great sadness that we announce today the cancellation of our 2020 Blossom Music Festival and Summers@Severance series in July and August,” said André Gremillet, President & CEO of The Cleveland Orchestra.
“The decision to cancel our summer concerts was very painful to make, but it is being driven by an abundance of concern for the safety and health of our musicians, audiences, and staff. It is our hope that all performing arts organizations, in both the for-profit and nonprofit parts of the industry, will be able to resume operations sooner rather than later. In addition to the state and federal guidelines that must be respected, we believe that each institution must make the right decision for their constituents. In the case of The Cleveland Orchestra, we believe that our best hope is to be back on stage in the fall, and we are preparing ourselves accordingly both in ensuring the safety of our musicians, guests, and staff at Severance Hall, but also in exploring options to livestream performances for our dedicated audience. We look forward to having the Orchestra get back together, and to continuing to serve our Northeast Ohio community again with live music performances as soon as possible for our 2020-21 season at Severance Hall. ”
The 2020 Blossom Music Festival will not take place, with most of the scheduled concerts canceled.
Two weekends of programming will be postponed from the 2020 Blossom Music Festival (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in Concert [July 17-19] and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets™ in Concert [August 29th and 30th]) and moved to summer of 2021, with tickets purchased for those movie presentations valid for the 2021 Blossom Music Festival dates.
Complete programming and details for the 2021 Festival will be announced early next year. Lawn Ticket Books purchased for the 2020 Blossom Music Festival will be valid for the 2021 Blossom Music Festival.
For details of the canceled or postponed 2020 Blossom Music Festival and canceled Summers@Severance concert dates, please see the Program Information section below.
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