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Posted: Jul 27, 2020 9:27 AMUpdated: Jul 27, 2020 9:27 AM

OKM Music Announces More on the Reformatted Fall Festival

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Tom Davis

OKM Music has been gearing up for its 36th season as Oklahoma’s premier music festival. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, OKM’s Board of Directors have decided to reformat the 2020 festival to ensure everyone’s safety and enjoyment while attending the concerts.  

Due to restrictions on indoor seating and the need for physical distancing, OKM will not be hosting any indoor concerts or its paid outdoor concerts that would potentially be moved indoors due to inclement weather.  All showcase concerts have been postponed to 2021. Main stage performances: Canadian Brass, Jack Settle, Dallas Brass, Tina Guo, Grady Nichols, and Wynona Wang have been postponed to the 37th OKM Festival, June 2021. Verona Quartet has been postponed as a future performance and the University of Oklahoma Symphony performance scheduled for October 4, has been cancelled for 2020 with hopes of rescheduling in 2021.

“We are fully committed to the health and safety of our patrons, artists, staff and community. By following recommendations from federal, state, and local health authorities, reformatting our festival seemed like the most appropriate option. In this difficult time of uncertainty, the OKM Board of Directors believe now more than ever, that the show must go on,” says Mary Lynn Mihm, Chairman of the Board.

While the theme of this year’s festival “music is personal” took an interesting turn with COVID-19, OKM is determined to move forward with a “six-feet away and distanced” approach to its 36th festival. As such, OKM will be presenting various live-streamed concerts for viewers to watch from the comfort of their home, as well as one outdoor concert, scheduled at the newly built Tower Center at Unity Square.

Cellist Tina Guo will be performing a free live-stream concert on Facebook, as well as YouTube on Saturday, September 5 at 2pm. This online performance will feature music from video game, movie and television soundtracks, such as Kung Fu Panda, Game of Thrones, Wonder Woman, to name a few. OKM will soon be announcing several more artists, such as Dallas String Quartet, that will be performing online as a way to bring exposure to artists who have been impacted by the pandemic. 

“On social media, Tina Guo has well over 600,000 followers. Her performance for OKM is going to be a really exciting way of exposing her music and OKM’s mission globally,” says Ryan Martin, OKM’s Marketing Director.

The outdoor performance originally scheduled for September 10, 2020, featuring Clark Gibson and Balsam Range will go on as planned at the newly built Tower Center Unity Square.  The concert will begin at 6pm and is free to the public for general seating.  Reserved VIP seats are available for $15.  In the event of inclement weather, the performances will be moved indoors at the Bartlesville Community Center.  All VIP ticket holders and the first 325 registered general admission attendees will be permitted to attend the concert if moved indoors. Both free general admission and VIP need to pre-register for the concert at okmmusic.org.

“In compliance of ongoing physical distancing efforts, OKM takes the safety of its guests very seriously. At our September 10 performance, hand-sanitizing stations will be available, seating will be spread out for physical distancing, masks will be encouraged, and temperatures will be taken for guests attending. Other measures may be implemented as they become necessary and available to ensure everyone’s enjoyment and safety,” said Mihm.

Scheduled for October 4, 2020, OKM’s Festival Postlude: Beethoven and the Future of Music, has been cancelled. The University of Oklahoma Symphony is currently not able to perform under current University policy and guidelines due to the coronavirus.  

“We hope to present the OU Symphony in the near future when the students are able to perform. We wish the students all the best during these difficult times and hope they are able to pursue their passion for music in other ways this semester,” said Mihm.

LISTEN TO RACHEL FOOTE ON COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Current ticket holders have three options regarding tickets already purchased: refund, transfer or donate. Purchasers may donate the value of the ticket purchased as a charitable donation to OKM to help support its programming. A full refund, including all services and handling fees for tickets purchased for the 2020 OKM Music Festival may be issued upon request.  Purchasers may also transfer any ticket purchased for an artist whose performance has been postponed until 2021.  Ticket purchasers will have until October 1, 2020 to make a decision.  After October 1, 2020, all outstanding tickets will automatically be considered a donation. Please contact the OKM Box Office, 918-336-9900 or email rfoote@okmozart.com for more details on OKM’s refund policy.

For more information and to view the complete schedule of events for OKM’s reformatted 36th festival, visit okmmusic.org.


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