We know that the pandemic has changed our lifestyles in many ways, but none so more as in our ways of worship and entertainment. Church services have gone virtual, as have all concerts, it seems. What made me sit up and take notice, though, was this recent Washington Post headline which read:

“The pandemic forced live events to go virtual. It may change access to entertainment forever.” (Washington Post, January 12, 2021).

Forever? In case you are not a subscriber, the gist of the article was that many cultural events have had to go virtual during this pandemic, and there may be no turning back. The article described the situation of Liz Locke, who was supposed to attend a film festival, but then had to watch all the movies online. The gamechanger was this: She had fun.

“Had I attended the festival in-person, I know I would have had a great time. But I don’t know that I would have put myself out there to the degree that I did on social media,” said Locke, who after that weekend saw lots of new followers for her movie-and-cocktail blog, Cinema Sips. “It was a really good way to build a community.”

I guess what really stood out for me was this section in the article:

… a small silver lining has emerged: Virtual entertainment events can actually be pretty great. Even more importantly, they open doors to people who might have otherwise not been able to attend, whether because of geography or mobility or finances. As a result, accessibility to entertainment could change for the better, forever.

I had a similar reaction when I viewed last month’s Hawaii Symphony “Sounds of the Season” concert with Ignace Jang, violin, playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Winter) and Piazzola’s Four Seasons (Winter) and Anna Lenhart, horn, playing Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4 in Eb, K.49.

Even though the concert was held “live” at the Hawaii Theatre, just 3 short blocks away from my condo, the fact is that I didn’t have to 1) dress up in clothes other than a T-shirt and shorts, my everyday “uniform” of choice; 2) drive to Blaisdell Concert Hall and try to find free on-street parking (I almost never park in the paid lot, but opt for free street parking. It means that I usually park 3-4 blocks away and have a short walk to the Concert Hall.)

Listening and watching the concert on my laptop and then mirrored on my large screen TV through my sound system made the concert much larger than life. The camera angles of the live video feeds bring you WAY UP close and personal—much much closer than in real life— and allowed me to take these screenshots, where cameras are not allowed in the concert hall during the performance. Even though my season ticket seats are pretty close to the stage, they are not THAT close to be able to see the players’ fingers a couple inches away as in these live videos.

Of course, what I miss is sitting next to my Symphony “buddy,” Samuel Lam, and comparing notes as to what we liked and didn’t like during the concert. When I watch these concerts, I can’t help but think of Sam who now watches these concerts from home, like everyone else.

All of this is to remind you that next week Friday, January 22nd through Sunday, January 31st, Early Music Hawaii will be broadcasting the secular part of its Masters of the English Reformation concert, featuring popular art songs by Byrd, Gibbons, Morley and Dowland, together with dances and fantasies for keyboard. You can check the Early Music Hawaii website for this “free” concert next week. (P.S. yes, I’m playing the organ and harpsichord for this concert.)

Donations, of course, are more than welcome!