Loss of the K-W Symphony continues to reverberate

It’s been less than three weeks since the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony was suddenly silenced and the loss continues to ripple.

“It’s a real shock,” said Adam Johnson, music director at the Guelph Symphony Orchestra. “Not only for the performers, it’s a huge loss, but of course our hearts go out to the community as well.”

Speaking on The Mike Farwell Show on Friday, Johnson said he believes a healthy arts scene is a tried and true sign of a healthy community as a whole and so, “a loss of a symphony orchestra, especially one with the history that [the K-W symphony] has, is just devastating on so many levels.”

Johnson went on to note many industries are continuing to hurt coming out of the pandemic but said their books are balanced and their audiences also do seem to be returning, albeit slowly.

“The Guelph Symphony is in a healthy financial situation, we’ve got a zero-deficit policy,” he said. “We, of course, still depend hugely on the support of our community and gracious annual donors, so we’re working very hard to make sure that we’re maximizing the resources we have while encouraging people to come out and support the arts.”

“We want to deliver and serve people through world-class music making, and really making music as powerful as possible and as relevant as possible to peoples’ lives today.”

Johnson, meantime, said the Guelph symphony would look to hire out-of-work local musicians whenever possible while also offering a sign of solidarity to local patrons who’ve already paid to see the KW Symphony only to be told they can’t and they also can’t get a refund.

“We would like to offer, to people who have a ticket [to the K-W Symphony], if they would just like to come and experience music for free, they can come to our opening concert,” Johnson said. “We understand it’s a really tough time for the community so just go to the [Guelph symphony’s] website and there’ll be some information there.”