Arts programs in Longmont have fought to maintain their operations through the ups and downs of the pandemic. While many local arts organizations feel like they’re finally finding their footing, most report changes to the creative communities they aim to foster.
Before the pandemic hit, the musicians part of the Longmont Symphony Orchestra, or LSO, never could have imagined that their routine for nearly six decades of regular rehearsals and performances would be interrupted.
According to Catherine Beeson, executive director of LSO, the beginning of the pandemic looked grim for the group because of an incompatibility between the virus’ airborne nature and the orchestra’s use of wind and brass instruments.
Initially not considering virtual alternatives, LSO continued rehearsing in small, socially-distanced groups but bade farewell to live public performances. Although times were tough, not one of the orchestra’s musicians left the group during this year and a half period — a testament to their undying desire to create music with one another, according to Beeson.
Finally, once LSO’s space was suitable for social distancing and all its members had adhered to the organization’s vaccination requirement, it dawned on the group to reconnect with the Longmont community by recording their concerts and posting them online. Although this practice was only intended to last until live public performances became an option again in September, today, LSO continues to offer virtual performances in order to reach more people.
“During the lockdown part of the pandemic, we were able to create online content and by doing so, we were able to stay focused on our mission which is to serve the community of Longmont,” Beeson said. “(Since then), we’ve made the costly but important decision to audio and video record all of our performances and make those available for people who can’t or won’t be able to participate in our vaccine requirement (for public performances).”
Virtual concerts offer not only the unvaccinated population an alternative way to watch LSO perform, Beeson added, but people who don’t drive anymore, people whose schedules make it inconvenient for them to attend concerts or people who can’t afford to. “(Virtual concerts) are much more affordable than the average live performance ticket price,” Beeson said, “so we’ve been able to reduce some barriers we hadn’t considered before.”
While the Community Coordinator of Centennial State Ballet, or CSB, Laura Malpass reported a decrease in youth performer participation in CSB’s virtual 2020-2021 season due to COVID-19, the organization has been successful in offering livestream options for their performance audiences. “We've had patrons log on locally, from around the country, and internationally,” Malpass remarked.
Thankfully for performing arts organizations like LSO and CSB, offering people the option to see them perform virtually has helped to compensate for record lows in live audience attendance recently, according to Beeson.
“In the performing arts field, we’re seeing across the board in the United States around 45-55 percent of the size of audience we had during pre-pandemic years,” Beeson explained. For LSO, audiences during their current season have reached as low as 30 percent attendance compared to pre-pandemic.
For Jessica and Paul Rogalski, owners of Mojo’s Music Academy, the beginning of the pandemic sparked panic as to how their business would continue to operate. However, the pair quickly realized, with the loyalty of Mojo’s music instructors and students and the option to conduct music lessons remotely, they would survive.
“We shut down on a Thursday and by Monday, all of (Mojo’s students and staff) had figured out Skype, Facetime, WhatsApp … I mean, we had to learn real fast on the fly,” Jessica Rogalski said. “But we just said to everyone ‘look, keep your schedule exactly the way it is and just go virtual from there.’ And it was pretty miraculous. The (students’) families were so supportive, like, ‘yep, no problem, let's do it.’ So we were really fortunate in that way.”
Although Mojo’s has since invited its students and instructors to resume music lessons in person, some participants have chosen to continue remotely now that the option is available, according to the owners. Similarly to LSO, Mojo’s didn’t experience attrition in student or instructor engagement during the pandemic. In fact, the music academy is currently seeing an uptick in the number of people requesting their services, Jessica Rogalski said.
“I definitely feel like when something is taken away, you'll see that it was really vital,” Jessica Rogalski observed. “To see (Mojo’s) come back (from the pandemic) stronger, it shows us that what we're providing is a vital part of people's lives. It's not that you can't live without it, but it's something that so many people really missed.”
While LSO, CSB and Mojo’s Music Academy have been able to capitalize on the community’s desire to engage in the arts by online means, other arts organizations like the Firehouse Art Center continue to feel the pain from lower numbers in live event participation caused by the pandemic, according to Elaine Waterman, the executive director of the Firehouse Art Center.
“Before the pandemic, the Firehouse would get people stopping in that were just passing by to go to brunch,” Waterman said. “When COVID shut down the restaurants, that stopped … now it is on the upswing, but nowhere near what it was before.”
As a nonprofit arts organization, the Firehouse Art Center is focused on engaging people of all ages in hands-on art activities and, by doing so, connecting them with other members of the Longmont community.
In the age of COVID-19, however, there's less happening in downtown Longmont that would help bring people into the Firehouse, according to Waterman, “and the lower attendance rate has had negative effects on our ability to connect,” she said.
Nevertheless, Waterman added, “I think the pandemic is an opportunity to try new things and see what sticks, and then take that and morph it into something that can work long term in the ‘new normal.’ We are very excited and positive about the future!”
Waterman’s optimism for the future of the Firehouse is representative of the quote “with great challenge comes great creativity,” as declared by Beeson during her interview with the Longmont Leader.
When faced with hardships such as those everyone has experienced throughout the pandemic, it’s important to turn to the arts to connect with one’s self and community, according to Beeson.
Despite challenges in the recent past, LSO is “growing by leaps and bounds,” Beeson said, and the group expects to resume their work with St. Vrain Valley School District students and the senior community soon.
“When we engage in these activities, we still feel like we’re growing together and creatively problem solving together as a community,” Beeson described. “That is why I think it’s so important that we have this rich local arts scene that we do in Longmont … and I think it is a lot of the reason why our Longmont Symphony musician members feel so deeply committed to this work,” she said.
