Dear ABO Family:
If you had asked any of us in 2011 what our tenth season would be like, those who anticipated a tenth season never dreamed that such an important milestone would be celebrated during a global pandemic. Yet here we are, and we hope you're all doing well!
Last we checked in, we'd put all our programming on hold. After careful consideration, it was decided that rather than forego this anniversary season, we should experiment with online performing. We just didn't want to miss out on our tenth year of sharing beautiful music with you.
We re-envisioned our planned season opener, Keeping an Ear to the Ground, as a one-player-per-part version of the orchestral program we'd originally planned to present. Late last month, with masks and hand sanitizer in tow and pantyhose over our wind instrument bells, we gathered distancedly to record a concert video that is being produced right now.
Set f or a premiere on YouTube on Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 CDT, this program consists of pieces that utilize ostinato forms—repeating patterns such as bass lines, melodic fragments, or chord progressions—as a primary structural element. We'll perform music from some of your (and our) favorite composers, including Vivaldi, Telemann, Handel, and more!
How will it work? Simply visit our website to purchase a ticket by following the link to the payment page and filling out the form, including a valid email address so we'll be able to send you the address for the concert. In the days leading up to the premiere, you'll receive the concert URL in an email. The video will be available exclusively to ticket-holders for two weeks, after which we'll open it to the general public for two days before returning it to the vault.
Social media is a great way to "keep your ear to the ground" as far as what we're up to: "like" us on Facebook, subscribe to our YouTube channel, or add us to your favorites on Spotify! We spent the summer adding content to our multimedia profiles, so check them out if you haven't in a while!
We hope you'll join us for Keeping an Ear to the Ground! While we very much missed performing for you in person, we think our love for the music and the excitement we felt for being able to come together after so many months apart were palpable in the video, and we look forward to sharing it with you via the interwebs.
Musically yours,
Billy Traylor – Artistic Director & Founder
Stephanie Noori – Concertmaster
Cristian Cantu – Chorusmaster
Chelsee Sandaker – Ensemble Administrator
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