After a year of confinement, the L'Amore woodwind quintet returns but with some notable changes. Our beloved oboist and bassoonist have both taken leaves of absence. Living with COVID has made us reevaluate our lives. As Arianna and Lori take this time, we have several substitutes who bring their new chemistry to the ensemble. We welcome Dorothy Darlington on oboe, and Gil DeJean, Jeff LaMarca, and Jonathan Watkins on bassoon.
Even though live concerts for us were dormant, there was still action behind the scenes for the last year. Simeon and Cecilia investigated doing live concerts in the parks in proximity to the senior residences we play for. Through transactions with the parks department, we gained a better understanding of the COVID guidelines for outdoor performances in the parks looking to Spring/Summer 2020. Along with Arianna, we wrote a tailored outdoor concert proposal considering COVID, and submitted a grant to the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC). Although we were not given the grant, we were inspired to find ways to play together using online means. What we discovered was that the amount of technical work required to make that happen outweighed the musical reward. Instead, we practiced individually at home, and gave intermittent individual performances at meetings and services. The members felt this was the overall safest approach until vaccinations changed the game.
Nancy has recently submitted another grant proposal to LMCC for the 2022 season.
Simeon spent the last year choosing some of the great string repertoire to arrange, and completed several. This is an ongoing project. He has already programmed some of those works on the upcoming programs.
In October, 2020, Cecilia, with the help of Ying-Chi I, built this new website for L'Amore della Musica.
Currently, the reconnection with our audiences at the senior residences has shown us that live music has been greatly missed. We look to our patrons and supporters of quality live music in the residences to dig deep this upcoming fundraising season to help meet our season goal of 20 concerts.