Upon the closure of venues, the MSO created a campaign, #KeepTheMusicGoing, and performed Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade on 16 March to an empty house. At the end of the night an online audience of 5,500 people had seen it — more than double the capacity of the original live audience. Within two weeks, this concert had been viewed more than 88,000 times.
Following further Government restrictions the MSO presented Beethoven’s 7th Symphony (with fewer players and appropriate distances), reaching a cumulative audience of 42,000 people and since current bans, it has presented two pre-recorded concerts (Tognetti and The Lark Ascending and Mendelssohn Octet). Each of these concerts has been underpinned by an incredible community of people right across the globe, commenting and interacting with each other during the performances (at last count more than 11,000 comments were made throughout the recent performances). Since the first broadcast, the MSO’s YouTube subscribers have jumped from 1,500 people to more than 10,000.
The MSO invites the world to be part of its new online concert series which will broadcast a concert performance from the MSO archives via the MSO YouTube channel every Thursday night at 7.30 pm, and a curated chamber performance every Sunday at 3 pm.
Since 1906, the MSO has been bringing communities together through the healing power of music. It has survived two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Global Financial crisis… and more. Ensuring the wellbeing of MSO audiences, musicians and staff remains the priority as the company prepares for a new future. For as long as it is able, the MSO will continue to provide the very best concerts, free of charge, and will continue to adapt and innovate ways to #KeepTheMusicGoing.