Westmoreland Symphony will livestream upcoming season concerts

The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra will return to the stage of The Palace Theatre for its 2021 season, with one significant difference from past years.

The seats in the historic Greensburg theater will be empty and, instead, patrons will be viewing concerts in their homes via livestream presented in partnership with the Westmoreland Cultural Trust.

“We’ll be creating some really interesting music, while also reaching audiences who can’t come out to the theater on a Saturday night because of distance, being shut in or having young children at home,” says Artistic Director Daniel Meyer. “We’re extracting silver linings wherever you can find them.”

The season will open Oct. 14 with “Back to Bach,” featuring flutist Lorna McGhee.

The season finale on May 1 features the return of WSO audience favorite, the teen piano virtuoso Maxim Lando.

“We’re really excited to have him back. We usually don’t invite an artist back with such frequency, but he has a special resonance with our audience,” Meyer says.

“He’s such a phenomenal talent that you don’t have to be a classical music fan to appreciate his artistry. You can just sense it,” says Executive Director Endy Reindl.

Other dates in the symphony season include the holiday season favorite, “Home for the Holidays,” Dec. 19; “Classical Heart,” Feb. 13; and “Mozart & Copland,” March 20.

“Especially at the beginning of the season, we’ll have the opportunity to show off our talented string section,” Meyer says. “We’re lucky in Western Pennsylvania to have access to so many freelance musicians through the fertile training grounds of Carnegie Mellon and Duquesne University and others. We’re very fortunate to capitalize on that.

“In this year, it will be so poignant to craft a program for ‘Home for the Holidays’ that people can share as they gather together in their home with their friends and loved ones,” he says. “We won’t be able to have the (All-Star Choir of Westmoreland County) with us, but we’ll have a sing-along that the audience can enjoy from the comfort of their homes.”

Subscription options

Various subscriptions packages are available for the season, including:

• Five concerts, $250: Includes at-home guide signed by Meyer, exclusive digital content, access to online happy hours with the conductor and musicians, priority live events throughout the season, wine and WSO wine glasses.

• Four concerts, $225: Includes at-home guide, exclusive digital content, access to online happy hours, wine and WSO wine glasses.

• Three-concert flex, $175: Includes at-home guide and access to online happy hours.

• Single concerts, $35 each.

“Considering where the coronavirus is right now, livestream is probably our safest bet,” Reindl says. “In the future, as we know more, we’ll certainly continue to assess the situation to see if (having an audience) will be feasible for the second half of the season.”

Details: 724-837-1850 or westmorelandsymphony.org