CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Orchestra has canceled several concerts that were set to take place overseas in the coming weeks.
“The Orchestra was scheduled to depart to Europe on March 16 and return from Abu Dhabi on April 5, with seven concerts between March 19 and March 26 in Europe (Linz’s Brucknerhaus, Vienna’s Musikverein and the Philharmonie de Paris), and four concerts between March 31 and April 4 as part of the Abu Dhabi Festival,” officials said in a press release Monday.
These changes come amid growing concerns of the coronavirus, which André Gremillet, President & CEO of The Cleveland Orchestra, discussed in the following statement released Monday:
“The health and well-being of our musicians, staff and patrons are our absolute priority. Ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) news reports have generated questions and concerns for all of us regarding the upcoming tour. We have been closely monitoring the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, with a focus on gathering facts from the many qualified medical experts available to us both here in Cleveland and around the world. After extended deliberation and based on information from these experts, we have made the decision that The Cleveland Orchestra will not travel to Europe and Abu Dhabi for our previously announced tour this March and April. We are very disappointed we won’t be able to perform due to circumstances out of our control, and we very much appreciate the understanding of everyone involved, especially our audiences and presenting partners for this tour. We are looking at the possibility of rescheduling some of these concerts at a future date.”
The Cleveland Orchestra said “alternative plans” for their March schedule will be revealed soon.