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The Portland Symphony Orchestra gets ready for a fall season like no other

“Particularly in times like this, we need something to take care of our spiritual well-being”

PORTLAND, Maine — Eckart Preu had a concern we can all sympathize with. He was worried that the audio or video on his Zoom call might be bad. “The kids are home,” he explained, “and the bandwidth may be a problem.”

So it goes, even for the conductor and musical director of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, now getting ready for a digital concert that will be streamed starting October 5th. The performance will be tailored for the age of Covid. Only 23 musicians will take the stage, and there will be masks, plastic partitions, social distancing.

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Preu, though, can’t wait to pick up his baton and lead his musicians. “Music is taking care of our souls in so many ways,” he said with conviction. “I think classical music in particular gets to the heart of who we are. Particularly in times like this, we need someone or something to take care of our emotion, spiritual well-being—and I think classical music is better suited than anything I know of.”

Want to find out more about the PSO concert Preu’s getting ready for? Watch our interview and be forewarned: His enthusiasm is infectious.

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