The Columbus Indiana Philharmonic soon will make a decision about COVID-related guidelines to begin its new season — and leader David Bowden’s 35th and final one before his retirement — Sept. 18 at Judson Erne Auditorium. Currently, seven concert dates are on the calendar through May.
Artistic director Bowden discussed the matter briefly after the nonprofit professional orchestra’s annual meeting Tuesday evening at Helen Haddad Hall in downtown Columbus.
The issue is especially important because of the ensemble’s high-profile standing locally and even beyond as a community entertainer and unifier. And it’s important because of rising COVID-19 cases at Columbus Regional Hospital and elsewhere.
“We’re going to listen to the authorities, and we are engaging them now,” Bowden said, shortly after he recapped for his board and supporters an unprecedented season of concerts in 2020-21 that included purposely limited in-person audiences and several online streamed concerts with no in-venue audiences at all for the sake of public safety. “There’s so much that we don’t know yet.
“In England, for instance, they recently had a spike like what we are having now, and then it went back down. And it has not come back up. And that also has happened in South Africa because of the Delta variant.
“So, for now, we’ll be doing partly as we did last year — making it up as we go along.”
Bowden understands public health issues at least as well as other general community members. His wife, Donna, is a retired nurse.
In his 34 years as the orchestra’s concert leader, he has been known especially for his programming preparedness in case of emergencies. Those emergencies have included ill featured performers and other extenuating circumstances. He always has referred to this as “having a backup program in my hip pocket.”
Last season, in some instances, that meant changing concert plans such as moving from an 80-member ensemble to a 20-or-fewer-member chamber orchestra to spread out masked musicians for safety and substantially altering the program of pieces. The presentations were considered a success, and for proof, Bowden read from several of The Republic’s glowing concert reviews, including one that referred to audience members weeping at one performance because “they were so happy to hear live music again,” as the conductor put it.
“There were a lot of musical organizations which did not play a single note (during the pandemic),” Bowden said, adding that many were larger and with larger budgets and staffs than the Philharmonic.
The local orchestra missed presenting a live or streamed, full concert for only one portion of last season — in December when a COVID surge stopped two holiday concerts only days beforehand. At least one concert was presented almost like a full TV production, with five camera angles and professional lighting with the help of local resident Brian Walker.
“It was a wonderful year in a terrible year,” he said, attempting to highlight bright spots amid the health crisis and cancellations.
He already is trying to fund a silver lining yet again in a health forecast with storm clouds.
“I have already prepared some substitute (upcoming) concerts,” Bowden said.
