The Oceanside Classic Concerts series for 2020-21 has been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.
David Douglas, president and artistic director for the Oceanside Classical Concerts Society, made the announcement on Friday, saying the society’s board has made the ‘very difficult’ decision to postpone the series until 2021-22.
“The emergence of COVID-19, and its impact on public health, is still of local and international concern,” he said in a release. “Protecting the well-being of our subscribers was paramount in our deliberations. We were particularly concerned within our community about large gatherings of people in enclosed spaces, especially involving an older demographic. We could not mitigate several of the risks associated with large gatherings, in spite of the measures we had planned to implement regarding hygiene and sanitation.”
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Douglas noted “our demographic is in the higher-risk category and deserves our best efforts to be cautious. The Knox United Church seating of 343 for our concerts, even with a gathering of 250 maximum (not allowed at present) will not suffice for social spacing for us to present our concerts. Thank you for understanding our concerns regarding the public’s health.”
He said the current season will move into next year, beginning in the fall of 2021.
“Our subscriber base will receive email communication from us in the spring of 2021 with information on how we will be proceeding with our concert series and subscription sales,” said Douglas. “We invite interested parties to also visit our website at oceansideclassicalconcerts.ca for updates.
The society’s scholarship program will continue throughout the coming year offering financial support for post-secondary education to an individual who demonstrates academic achievement and outstanding musical skills and potential, and is seeking a music-related career.
“It is our hope to award one or more scholarships in this coming year based on academic achievement and an adjudicated competition,” said Douglas.
– NEWS staff, submitted
