Van Andel Arena Hosting GR Symphony For Live Stream This Weekend
Since the middle of March, Van Andel Arena has been closed because of the pandemic, but this weekend the Grand Rapids Symphony will be taking the stage in the massive arena, even if no one will be in the actual audience.
WOOD TV8 reports that both Friday and Saturday night, the symphony will be performing together in the arena, only the second time in-person since the start of the pandemic. The concerts are part of a series called "Pathwaves", according to WOOD TV8.
Unlike other GR Symphony concerts that have happened during the pandemic, this one will have three different cameras capturing the musicians, who will all be socially distanced. The concert will still be live-streamed to the audience but will be different from the previous shows, which were basically a Zoom interface.
As Grand Rapids Symphony's Aaron Doty told WOOD TV8,
“Before your audience was used to just seeing one musician on a screen with one person in a bingo square and another bingo square here stitched together in engineering. This was an opportunity for them to come together and make music as an ensemble.”
The concerts this weekend will feature singer Larisa Martinez and violinist Joshua Bell who will be performing with the Grand Rapids Symphony. IF you've been missing the symphony's performances, tickets for the live-stream are still available.
And just know, Aaron told WOOD TV8, that the Grand Rapids Symphony is still excited to be able to have the audience back in the house with them during the performances when it's finally safe again.