NEWS RELEASE
Date: February 10, 2021 Contact: Lexi Locke
For Immediate Release Phone: 417.864.6683
Photos Available Upon Request Cell: 417.860.9690
Fax: 417.864.8967
lexi@springfieldmosymphony.org
Springfield Symphony presents an entrée of all-Mozart favorites
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Springfield Symphony (SSO) continues its “Comfort Food” season with the classical concert, The Bread and the Wine on Saturday, February 20th at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The program will present Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante and Requiem featuring multiple guest artists and the Missouri State University Chorale. These performances will take place at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.
“The Mozart Requiem has always been one of my very favorite pieces. It is powerful, moving, and universal,” stated Music Director and Conductor Kyle Wiley Pickett. “In a year where we have seen so many deaths nationwide, the Mozart Requiem is more relevant than ever. This year, with the pandemic, we have taken extraordinary precautions as an orchestra to keep our players and audience safe. The Missouri State Chorale has also been taking precautions to make singing safe.” The Mozart Requiem will include soloists Jennifer Forni, Kaylee Nichols, Sean Spyres, and Chris Thompson. In this sixth concert of the “Comfort Food” season, the Springfield Symphony welcomes two SSO musicians to the Hammons Hall stage as guest artists as well. “It is always special to get to feature our own musicians as soloists,” said Pickett. “I’m especially happy to be featuring Pam Davis and Kirsten Weingartner-Weiss in Mozart’s gorgeous Sinfonia concertante. This is a wonderful piece of music showcasing the skills and talents of the soloists with beautiful accompaniment by the orchestra.”
In preparation for the performances, the Springfield Symphony, the Missouri State University Chorale, and soloists have taken necessary precautions to not only protect the audience, but the performers themselves. Instead of 70+ orchestra members and 250 singers, this performance of the Mozart Requiem will contain 31 orchestra members and a chorus of 42 singers. In addition to this reduction, all chorus, soloists, conductor, and orchestra will be masked. All gatherings of chorus and orchestra will be separated with different gathering spaces and singers will follow protocol for stage entrances. All musicians will continue to follow safety measures during rehearsals with extra break times to clear the air onstage, fill out medical forms, adhere to temperature checks, and more. All musicians will be socially distanced a minimum of 6 feet apart and the Hammons Hall stage will extend the stage space further than other concerts this season.
For audience and performer safety, the Springfield Symphony will provide a 15-minute intermission for each The Bread and the Wine concert performance to clear the stage and the Hammons Hall auditorium. “Our collaboration this year is one of the very few choral/orchestral performances that are taking place during the pandemic, which makes this even more special,” said Pickett. Single tickets are currently on sale online at www.springfieldmosymphony.org/tickets. Single tickets are $30 per ticket with limited availability for the 2:00 PM performance and livestream tickets start at $12 per household for the 7:30 PM performance. Season tickets are available for the afternoon performances.
Join Pickett at the free LIVE event, Behind the Baton, on the Springfield Symphony Orchestra MO Facebook page. Behind the Baton provides the opportunity to meet Pickett and guest artists and hear about the music that will be performed at the February 20th concert. The Facebook Live event takes place at 5:45 p.m. on the Thursday before each Springfield Symphony classical concert.
Pickett is available for any interviews or questions. Please feel free to email him at kwpickett@gmail.com or call at (417) 837-9422. The Bread and the Wine concerts are sponsored by Reliable Superstore, Bryan Properties, Foster Hospitality Group, and Springfield News-Leader. For more information on Springfield Symphony health and safety guidelines, concerts and events, and more, visit www.springfieldmosymphony.org.
The Springfield Symphony Orchestra is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and an Equal Opportunity Employer. Additional funding for all Springfield Symphony Orchestra programming is provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. For more information, visit www.springfieldmosymphony.org or www.facebook.com/springfieldsymphony.
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