eNotes :: Will Work for Music! 👋

September 2021 eNotes

Dear Friend,

Thanks to our stalwart core of longtime supporters, season ticket sales opened up strong last month! If you are among those interested in individual concerts and ticket sales, we will be opening them up very soon, so stay tuned. Now our focus is on getting ready for our October concert, the first in our Finalist Showcase Series and the first time we’ve had a live performance of the entire orchestra in eighteen months!

A community orchestra by definition means our musicians are volunteers, so they clearly work hard for the sheer love of the music and the performance. It’s a precious gift of time and talents that we all stay mindful of and appreciate very much. We are now in the critical steps of pulling together those musicians and making sure we have all the bases covered for the music chosen to delight our ears in October. Many thanks to the musicians who have already signaled that they are eager to return!

In preparation, we’ve had a lot of recent dialogue with both musicians and supporters about how to safely gather in the concert hall as the public health situation fluctuates. The dialogue resulted in the Board of Directors approving a policy last month on COVID-19 Safety Measures that we want to be sure you all know about. Setting an overarching priority on maintaining a safe working environment, all staff and volunteers (including musicians and the Board of Directors) will prove that they are fully vaccinated in order to be able to participate in Symphony events. Beginning with the October concert, all patrons must also show proof of full vaccination to be admitted to the concert hall. For the complete policy details, please see our website (click here) or contact our office. Masks will be required indoors in the concert hall, and the orchestra on-stage mask requirements for rehearsal and concerts will be set by their leadership to allow safety and performance.

We understand that even measures at this high level may not set your mind at ease. Only you can decide what is comfortable for you and your family to feel safe. As one of our longtime supporters tells us, “My heart is heavy that indoor audiences are not a match for us!”. Please know that our sole goal is to keep the Auburn Symphony alive and moving forward, carefully and as safely as possible now, so we can be here to throw our doors wide open in the future. If now is not the right time for you to join us, we hope you’ll be back in the future. We’ll still be friends!

Speaking of friends, our “behind the scenes” spotlight this month is on some fabulously unsung heroes of the Auburn Symphony—our volunteer ushers! Without them, who knows what chaos we might find in the aisles of our concert hall?! We have a list too many to name who have been there for us over the years (that happens when you’ve been in the business for 34 years) but we surely want to give them their collective moment in the limelight! One of the most miraculous parts of our volunteer service corps is that it has been managed seamlessly and quietly as a labor of love for more than 20 years by one extraordinary volunteer coordinator, Judith Gropp.

Judith maintained her list of volunteer ushers and made sure we had coverage. She deftly knew how to orient new volunteers and was careful to teach them what they needed to know. Something as simple as placement would enhance their success and make for a pleasant concert experience for all. Even before she retired from her professional role as a medical social worker, Judith worked hard to serve us and indulge her passion for live symphonic music with other community orchestras around the region. Here she is with husband Dave Leslie at our 2019 Pops Concert—very fittingly costumed as Wonder Woman.

We tip our hats in gratitude to Judith, as she needs to step away from the coordinating role for our ushers this year (and says she hopes to be back!). Thank you, Judith, for all that love, all those years, and so many concerts where ushers under your guidance greeted us with gusto, got us to the right seats, and made sure we had our all-important program notes! If YOU are interested and able to join our cadre of volunteer ushers and “will work for music” this year, please contact Business Manager Jennifer Sanders at 530-823-6683. Many friendly and helpful faces make for a wonderful Auburn Symphony experience—even with masks!

Thanks, again, for stepping up to renew season tickets or become new subscribers and for joining our Circle of Friends. If you missed it, take a listen here to Executive Director Anne Brown’s chat with Keith Porter of KVMR and Classics Declassified about our upcoming season. We still have sponsorship opportunities for the concerts and guest artists this season that comes with many benefits such as advertising in our program, season or concert tickets, and more! Check out our sponsorship sheet (click here) and contact our office if you are interested. If you are looking for tickets or have any questions about our plans or policies, we’re here for you!