Since mid-March, the clubs and performance halls have been silent, and musicians are adjusting to life at home.
Renia Shterenberg is the Executive Director of San Antonio’s Olmos Ensemble, and her whole family is staying at home these days, working, studying, and playing music.
“I do feel sometimes like I'm kicking back to my conservatory days when all four of us are practicing our instruments at the same time,” she told us in an online interview.
You can see the happy results of their work in a “Quarantet,” the J.S. Bach Double Violin concerto arranged by their son Joshua Shterenberg for violins and clarinets, posted to YouTube by Youth Orchestras of San Antonio.
“We are managing homeschool, and at the same time trying to go for walks around our neighborhood every day and limit our excursions,” Shterenberg explained. “I try to only get out and go to the grocery store once every 10 days or so, which takes a little bit of managing, but it's working for us. So far we've been in it for about four weeks and I think we're getting the hang of it.”
Olmos Ensemble canceled their March concert following the stay-at-home order by the City of San Antonio. The May concert is still up in the air.
“[Olmos Ensemble] will be making the decision on whether or not to go ahead with a performance in May, probably by the end of April we'll make that decision. We want to wait and see where the world is at that point, but we want to make sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable for whatever route we choose to go with,” Shterenberg said.
Olmos Ensemble just about has their 2020-21 season scheduled, and plans to announce concerts in June, according to Shterenberg, including their popular Summer Concert Series, a series of three concerts on Sundays in August.
In the meantime, there are still plenty of ways to enjoy, support and interact with the group, including archive concerts on YouTube, as well as Facebook and Instagram.
Said Shterenberg, “people can follow us there… to still hear the beautiful music that our wonderful Olmos Ensemble musicians make.”
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