PHILHARMONIC EXTENDS MUSIC DIRECTOR’S CONTRACT, OFFERS SEASON OF FREE CONCERTS AND SECURES MATCHING GIFT
After nearly five months away from the stage, the Erie Philharmonic is back with a powerful message of hope for the 2020-21 season:
Music Director Daniel Meyer signs a new six-year contract
Groundbreaking free televised concerts for the community
Dollar-for-dollar matching gift for all donations received on Erie Gives Day (thank you to the donors who made this such a successful day!)
“Daniel Meyer is a world class conductor and music director, and we are privileged to have his talent, energy and commitment to the Erie Philharmonic for another six seasons.
In spite of the disruption of COVID-19, Maestro Meyer continues to find creative ways to keep the music alive for our audiences right now. And we are thrilled to know that he’ll be with us to celebrate as the Erie Philharmonic makes its exciting return to the historic Warner Theatre stage when the extensive renovations and upgrades are complete.”
The Philharmonic is proud to announce that Music Director Daniel Meyer has signed a new multi-year contract to lead the orchestra for an additional six seasons through the summer of 2026.
In addition to Maestro Meyer’s new contract, the Philharmonic is planning to present a season of FREE concerts for the community, televised monthly on WQLN PBS, launching this October (Thursdays at 8pm, rebroadcast Sundays at 2pm). Concerts will also be made available on the Orchestra’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, website and more, offering an unprecedented level of access to the Philharmonic across the region.
Regrettably, this new plan means the Erie Philharmonic will not be offering subscriptions for the 2020-21 season, representing an estimated loss of $650,000 in potential revenue.
“I am thrilled and honored to extend my relationship with the Erie Philharmonic.
Inspired by the precise, passionate playing of our musicians, the wise, thoughtful leadership of our Board, the creative teamwork of our indefatigable staff, and the warmth and dedication of our loyal Erie audiences, I am continually challenged to find ways to grow personally and to help this orchestra to reach new heights.
I believe in Erie and what a special community this is and am grateful to be called to lead the Philharmonic through this next era.”
“In this time of uncertainty, stress and turmoil, we have made the decision to give back to the community that has supported us for so long with unrivaled generosity.
These free performances, viewable in your living room right on your TV, or anywhere on your computer or mobile device, represent a positive and healing light for our region as we look to recover from this crisis. We’ve been saying all along that the music will return. To do so in a way that the entire community can enjoy for free is the full embodiment of our mission to enrich, educate and entertain.”
“I am so very excited to partner with the Erie Philharmonic this season by broadcasting their concerts free to WQLN PBS’s audience.
The Philharmonic is the cultural heart and soul of our community. To make their performances available to Northeast Ohio, Southern Ontario, Western New York, and all the Pennsylvanians who may have never had the opportunity to see the Phil live - I say get ready to see and hear something wonderful.”
“With no ticket revenue for the foreseeable future, due to ongoing crowd-size restrictions, we must rely 100% on the generosity of our patrons and donors.
The on-going support of our community continues to inspire us all. This matching-gift challenge is an invaluable way for Erie to guarantee that we can provide robust programs, digitally and virtually, until we can come back in person. Everyone has been financially impacted by this pandemic, and we wanted to ensure that our patrons, volunteers, staff and musicians remain safe while still being able to present some type of a concert season. Erie Gives Day allows us to do just that.”
Current season pass holders will be contacted by the Erie Philharmonic box office in the coming weeks to discuss options due to this cancellation. If the COVID-19 situation progresses in such a manner that full-scale concerts are deemed safe in Spring 2021, the orchestra will offer individual tickets for purchase when additional concerts are scheduled. As of now, the Orchestra is hoping for a triumphant return to a newly renovated Warner Theatre stage in Fall 2021, pending renovations from Erie Events (follow along here).
The Erie Philharmonic will present as many of these publicly-broadcasted, free chamber concerts as financially possible, initially based on funding raised through Erie Gives Day on August 11.
Additional funding will be generously provided by the Bruce Morton Wright Chamber Series Fund, administered by Erie Arts & Culture.
The Erie Philharmonic is honored to present live concerts season after season. Our mission to enrich, educate and entertain will always remain at the forefront of our business decisions. We know our efforts are not defined within the four walls of our concert hall. We have navigated through these challenging past few months by looking to the positive moments that we know we will have in the future. We will return to the stage. We will support our musicians. We will applaud as the lights brighten the stage. Our Music Director will step onto the podium, and the music will return.
Ticket Information
The Erie Philharmonic is honored to bring you live concerts season after season. Our mission to enrich, educate and entertain will always remain at the forefront of our business decisions, and we know our efforts are not defined within the four walls of our concert hall. We’ve navigated through these challenging past few months by looking to the positive moments that we know we will have in the future. We will return to the stage. We will support our musicians. We will applaud as the lights brighten the stage. Our Music Director will step onto the podium, and the music will return.
We know we will reach this moment again, but for now we’re working on a plan for free concerts in a safe manner, starting in the fall. We don’t know all of the details at this point, but it does mean that there will unfortunately be no subscription-based concerts for the 2020-21 Season (September 2020-June 2021). This decision did not come lightly, but with guidance from our Board of Directors, we feel this is the best decision for all.
The Box Office staff will be reaching out to all affected ticket holders and subscribers individually in the upcoming weeks to discuss options and to update the tickets in your account. For most of our subscribers, it means that your 2020-21 subscription will be credited to the 2021-22 season. This is a massive change that has never happened in our 100+ year history, so please be patient as we work through the list of ticketholders and account updates.
Here are a few questions that you may have:
You will be contacted by a member of the Erie Philharmonic staff to discuss your options for your purchased 2020-21 subscription. These options include donating your subscription to help us present these free concerts or crediting your subscription for the following 2021-22 season. They can also answer any additional questions or concerns you may have at that time.
As we have many patrons to contact, please give us to August 24 to reach out to you. If you have not heard from us by that point, please feel free to contact the box office as we may have an outdated number or been unable to leave a message.
Donating your subscription makes an immediate impact on the orchestra! This means that instead of crediting your purchased subscription for the 2020-21 season to the following season, you would allow the orchestra to turn that money into a donation to our annual fund, which supports the free concerts in the fall. AND, your generosity is doubled as we had a Board Member step up who will match the value of your subscription with a donation for the same amount. Double the impact, instantly! When we get ready to sell subscriptions for the 2021-22 season, you would purchase that subscription as usual.
With no ticket revenue options on the horizon until 2021, your generosity means the world to us and ensures that when we are allowed, we'll be able to take the stage together again.
Not at this time. If you’d like to purchase your subscription now for the 2021-22 season and not have to worry about purchasing your subscription in the future, you can do that by contacting the box office. If not, you’ll hear more about subscriptions for the 2021-22 season in March 2021.
We hope to combine the concerts that were cancelled already (Rodgers & Hammerstein and Beethoven’s Ode to Joy) with some of the concerts that are no longer happening this fall. We also hope to be back on our newly renovated stage of the Warner Theatre in the fall of 2021, so you can be assured the concerts will be bigger and better than ever! Also, Daniel Meyer just extended his contract for the next six seasons so we are creating some unbelievable plans for the future.
We remain ready and eager to present concerts again! We hope to bring our talented musicians together in the fall to present free music in a safe manner, unlike any performance you have seen before. If and when we are able to present in-person concerts with large audiences, we’ll do so as a stand-alone event that is not part of any subscription package. Subscribers to the 2019-20 or 2020-21 season would receive a discount on these single tickets and gain early access before the general public.
· If you are a current subscriber, donating your 2020-21 subscription to aid in presenting these free concerts would make an important, immediate and direct impact on this orchestra. If you want to see us return to the stage, this is the first step.
· Make a donation on Erie Gives Day (August 11) at eriegives.org. Support right now is critical to move forward.
· Stay connected! We’re holding Coffee Chats on Tuesday evenings with Daniel Meyer and special guests.
The Erie Philharmonic has been in this community since 1913. We plan to be here throughout this pandemic for another 107 years and beyond!
Our Box Office remains open via phone 814.455.1375 or email info@eriephil.org, and we’re able to answer questions from 9 AM-5 PM, Monday-Thursday throughout the summer. Our office location is not open to the public at this time.
If you are a subscriber that has already renewed your subscription, please know that we will reach out to you as soon as we can over the next few weeks to discuss your options and answer your questions at that time.
Have even more questions?
Please fill out this form and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!