Philharmonic cancels last two ticketed concerts of the season

Members of the Columbus Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, in white, perform side-by-side with their professional counterparts from the Columbus Philharmonic, in black, during an Adventure Concert for elementary school students in the auditorium at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Mike Wolanin | The Republic

Amid the COVID-19 threat, the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic has canceled its last two ticketed concerts this season — the “Forrest and Brahms” performance on March 28 and the “Tchaikovsky” performance April 25. Both were scheduled at Judson Erne Auditorium at Columbus North High School.

And with both dates, the orchestra is asking ticket buyers to either consider their purchases a tax-deductible donation to the nonprofit ensemble or to receive a gift certificate for a concert for next season. The Philharmonic office will begin taking calls March 24 about the tickets at 812-376-2638 or people can email their decision to [email protected] since office staff is limited.

“It is your continued support through this crisis that will enable the CIP to continue to fulfill our mission — to bring the joy of quality music to the community,” said Tracy Haddad, the Philharmonic’s interim executive director, in a message to supporters.

Philharmonic Artistic Director David Bowden confirmed that these were the first cancellations in the professional orchestra’s 33-year history. He said he had no way to guess whether ticket buyers would choose a gift certificate, which could impact the orchestra financially.

“My very best answer at this time is, ‘We’ll find out in a month or so,'” Bowden said.

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.