January 19, 2022
Covid Takes Center Stage at Richardson Auditorium
Marna Seltzer
Director, Princeton University Concerts
Marge D'Amico, Introducer, and Marna Seltzer
Minutes of the 16th Meeting of the 80th Year
Stephen Schreiber presided over the 16th session of the 80th year. One hundred forty-two members and seven guests attended: Jane Ashcom, Joyce Felsenfeld, Marianne Grey, Jeanne Johnson, and Evlelyn Adler, guests of Marge d’Amico; Costa Papastephanou, the guest of Ralph Widner; and Rita Asch, guest of Marsha Levin-Rojer. Keith Wheelock read the minutes of last week’s meeting, and Marge D’Amico introduced Marna Seltzer. Now Director of Princeton University Concerts (PUC), Ms. Seltzer began her career as office manager for the violinist Itzhak Perlman, and then became director of artistic planning at Lincoln Center for six years. Before coming to Princeton almost a decade ago, she served as Director of University of Chicago Presents, an organization similar to PUC, for eight years.
Using the luminous stage of Richardson Auditorium as a dramatic backdrop, Ms. Seltzer spoke to the Old Guard about the challenges of bringing world-class performers to Richardson in the era of Covid, the importance of gathering together to listen to music, what has been lost in the Covid era, and on what possibly has been gained.
In March 2020, musical events were cancelled across the globe. For PUC this was unprecedented; for 120 years there have been uninterrupted concerts despite two world wars and the 1918 pandemic (during which Stokowski conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in Richardson). Suddenly, the hall went dark for a full 18 months, although subscribers could tune in to a series of virtual concerts and talks. This last fall, PUC presented 12 Performances Up Close, though for audiences of 40 as opposed to the usual 200 sitting on stage. The hall has been open exclusively for university members, so local arts organizations such as the Princeton Symphony have had to scramble to stay active over the last three years. Although it seemed that life would resume this spring, the Omicron variant dashed that hope. A concert is tentatively scheduled for February 17 but may have to be rescheduled.
Why have so many worked so hard to bring live music back to the community? Ms. Seltzer asked. In answer she ran a stunning three-minute video of “The Swan,” by Camille Saint-Saëns, performed by cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and his pianist sister Isata from their family home in Nottingham, England. This was part of one of PUC’s virtual concerts in 2021. 0The duo will make their in-person PUC debut on April 27, if all goes well, and tickets to this concert will be available soon. High-speed wireless has brought memorable streaming events to us from around the globe, and on one level this seems memorable and exciting, a golden age of access. In the last two years Ms. Seltzer saw theater from London, toured Prague from her couch, and became obsessed with Bach played by the Icelandic superstar pianist Vikingur Ólafsson,
And yet this was a poor substitute for the real thing. To stay sane, said Ms. Seltzer, we gather. Our brains are keenly attuned to reading the people around us. When there is a point of collective focus at a concert, the sense of belonging can blossom. It’s a bit ironic, she said, that it took a global lockdown in a hyper-connected age to remind people how special live, in-person concerts can be. According to neurologists, when we’re part of a crowd with a shared focus, all our social synapses start firing, we produce and consume emotional energy, and this sympathetic resonance with our neighbors produces a neural rush. As Oliver Saks puts it, music “has a unique power to express inner states or feelings. Music can pierce the heart directly.” Professor Scott Burnham writes that our favorite music provides “our surest sense of identity - we are undivided from ourselves.” And the critic Jason Farago adds, “The function of art, Aristotle told us, is catharsis: a cleansing, a clarity, a feeling of relief and understanding that you carry with you out of the theater or the concert hall.”
In many ways a concert can be like a religious experience, a deeply meaningful, communal practice. The stage is a glowing altar; the musician, a leader interpreting an important, symbolic text, while the audience listens in rapt silence and worshipful celebration. An audience forms a mini community whose members find connection with one another through music. During the Covid era PUC has designed an incredibly successful program of live music meditation building on these parallels. A university like Princeton is great because of the way it brings people together, and at a Richardson concert you feel all of that. It is an intersection of people who come for their own personal reasons but have a collective experience. And the quality of listening in the hall can profoundly influence performers, who may linger over a beautiful change of harmony or the last wisps of sound. In 2006 Shirley Tilghman recognized the power of the performing arts to foster empathy, satisfy our social nature, and build community when she led Princeton to make a generational investment in the arts. The arts, she wrote, help students develop cognitive abilities and forms of intelligence that complement training in other disciplines” and are related to empathy and emotional sensitivity. Philosopher Martha Nussbaum argues that the arts are essential to democracy because they help bridge apparent differences, which means that we need them now more than ever.
Ms. Seltzer noted that the pandemic’s effect on professional touring musicians has been devastating. Some, like the pianist Igor Levitt, have found radical solutions. Early in March 2020 Levitt, whose concerts were cancelled, decided to give a live streamed concert from his home almost every night - 52 in total. Ms. Seltzer listened to all of them and then asked him what the difference was between playing live and streaming. Levitt said that it was awful, soul-crushing, to stream from an empty hall, and he just couldn’t do it. Some younger musicians have pivoted to new careers after losing their means of support. Those who do perform, given the vast differences in Covid restrictions in different places, have to make incredibly difficult decisions about risking their health for their careers.
On a more positive note, Ms. Seltzer said, the pandemic has opened the doors to significant changes in the field. There is an opportunity to rebuild audiences in a more inclusive and diverse way. With racial reckoning as the backdrop to the pandemic, presenters feel a new urgency to identify and present composers and performers with a range of perspectives and backgrounds. Streaming has spurred experimentation and reached new audiences - some of that should stick.
Ms. Seltzer concluded by inviting those listening to attend a concert this spring for a communal experience that will “help us start to repair.” Barring changes, PUC will offer concerts from March through the first week in May, and tickets are available online. She hopes to reconnect with all of us in Richardson Auditorium.
Opening the question period, Stephen Schreiber asked about the financial situation of PUC and its performing artists. Marna said that thanks to the Princeton endowment for the arts, PUC has paid 50% of fees to its artists. The PUC staff receives some government support. Last year there were no ticket sales for PUC; this year 100% of funds received will go to artists. PUC has had a number of virtual events, which have reached almost 20,000 people in the U.S. and abroad. People ordered take-out meals, the proceeds from which went to local non-profits, and ate while listening to the concert. A joint venture with the University of Michigan starred the mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato and was very successful. Top artists are more available due to Covid, of course, she noted.
As to the future, Ms. Seltzer described the system of identifying rising artists as robust, complex, and continuing to operate despite the pandemic. But she cautioned that there is no way of knowing how the lost years of performing will impact music. Her goal in presenting concerts has always been to have the audience leave Richardson determined to come to the next one. PUC has unfortunately lost a number of older subscribers for a number of reasons. Hybrid concerts are possible but doing them well is very expensive. The logistics of live performances now revolve around a host of technical questions: visas, travel arrangements, Covid and even blood testing, booster shots, and so forth, so it’s complicated. But PUC has an edge in the routing system: Artists often perform at PUC and the next day at Carnegie Hall. It helps that Princeton is an excellent stop between New York and Philadelphia.
Asked how the Gustavo Dudamel residency came about, Ms. Seltzer said that this was her big idea for the PUC 125th anniversary, and that when she called, she tried to be creative in her “ask.” Dudamel not only said yes but said he wanted to do not one but three concerts and bring his students from around the world to campus.
Ms. Seltzer was asked about her new book, Ways of Hearing: Reflections on Music in 26 Pieces, in which essays by professors, philosophers, artists, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg give their takes on the importance of music. She thinks Old Guard members would enjoy it and urges us to buy it from Labyrinth Books.
Asked about the relationship between PUC and the Lewis Center, Ms. Seltzer noted that PUC is part of Princeton’s music department, which is a degree-granting entity. Lewis addresses all the other branches of the arts, and its mission is students, whereas PUC, like the art museum, is public.
PUC has conducted four audience surveys since last spring. The main takeaways from the December survey are that 30-40% of the base is still sitting on the sidelines, and 60% say they are ready to go out but haven’t rejoined. Clearly some people have assimilated the risks, while others have become more risk averse. Overall, Ms. Seltzer feels that there has been a hardening of positions on both sides.
Respectfully submitted,
Priscilla Roosevelt
Using the luminous stage of Richardson Auditorium as a dramatic backdrop, Ms. Seltzer spoke to the Old Guard about the challenges of bringing world-class performers to Richardson in the era of Covid, the importance of gathering together to listen to music, what has been lost in the Covid era, and on what possibly has been gained.
In March 2020, musical events were cancelled across the globe. For PUC this was unprecedented; for 120 years there have been uninterrupted concerts despite two world wars and the 1918 pandemic (during which Stokowski conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in Richardson). Suddenly, the hall went dark for a full 18 months, although subscribers could tune in to a series of virtual concerts and talks. This last fall, PUC presented 12 Performances Up Close, though for audiences of 40 as opposed to the usual 200 sitting on stage. The hall has been open exclusively for university members, so local arts organizations such as the Princeton Symphony have had to scramble to stay active over the last three years. Although it seemed that life would resume this spring, the Omicron variant dashed that hope. A concert is tentatively scheduled for February 17 but may have to be rescheduled.
Why have so many worked so hard to bring live music back to the community? Ms. Seltzer asked. In answer she ran a stunning three-minute video of “The Swan,” by Camille Saint-Saëns, performed by cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and his pianist sister Isata from their family home in Nottingham, England. This was part of one of PUC’s virtual concerts in 2021. 0The duo will make their in-person PUC debut on April 27, if all goes well, and tickets to this concert will be available soon. High-speed wireless has brought memorable streaming events to us from around the globe, and on one level this seems memorable and exciting, a golden age of access. In the last two years Ms. Seltzer saw theater from London, toured Prague from her couch, and became obsessed with Bach played by the Icelandic superstar pianist Vikingur Ólafsson,
And yet this was a poor substitute for the real thing. To stay sane, said Ms. Seltzer, we gather. Our brains are keenly attuned to reading the people around us. When there is a point of collective focus at a concert, the sense of belonging can blossom. It’s a bit ironic, she said, that it took a global lockdown in a hyper-connected age to remind people how special live, in-person concerts can be. According to neurologists, when we’re part of a crowd with a shared focus, all our social synapses start firing, we produce and consume emotional energy, and this sympathetic resonance with our neighbors produces a neural rush. As Oliver Saks puts it, music “has a unique power to express inner states or feelings. Music can pierce the heart directly.” Professor Scott Burnham writes that our favorite music provides “our surest sense of identity - we are undivided from ourselves.” And the critic Jason Farago adds, “The function of art, Aristotle told us, is catharsis: a cleansing, a clarity, a feeling of relief and understanding that you carry with you out of the theater or the concert hall.”
In many ways a concert can be like a religious experience, a deeply meaningful, communal practice. The stage is a glowing altar; the musician, a leader interpreting an important, symbolic text, while the audience listens in rapt silence and worshipful celebration. An audience forms a mini community whose members find connection with one another through music. During the Covid era PUC has designed an incredibly successful program of live music meditation building on these parallels. A university like Princeton is great because of the way it brings people together, and at a Richardson concert you feel all of that. It is an intersection of people who come for their own personal reasons but have a collective experience. And the quality of listening in the hall can profoundly influence performers, who may linger over a beautiful change of harmony or the last wisps of sound. In 2006 Shirley Tilghman recognized the power of the performing arts to foster empathy, satisfy our social nature, and build community when she led Princeton to make a generational investment in the arts. The arts, she wrote, help students develop cognitive abilities and forms of intelligence that complement training in other disciplines” and are related to empathy and emotional sensitivity. Philosopher Martha Nussbaum argues that the arts are essential to democracy because they help bridge apparent differences, which means that we need them now more than ever.
Ms. Seltzer noted that the pandemic’s effect on professional touring musicians has been devastating. Some, like the pianist Igor Levitt, have found radical solutions. Early in March 2020 Levitt, whose concerts were cancelled, decided to give a live streamed concert from his home almost every night - 52 in total. Ms. Seltzer listened to all of them and then asked him what the difference was between playing live and streaming. Levitt said that it was awful, soul-crushing, to stream from an empty hall, and he just couldn’t do it. Some younger musicians have pivoted to new careers after losing their means of support. Those who do perform, given the vast differences in Covid restrictions in different places, have to make incredibly difficult decisions about risking their health for their careers.
On a more positive note, Ms. Seltzer said, the pandemic has opened the doors to significant changes in the field. There is an opportunity to rebuild audiences in a more inclusive and diverse way. With racial reckoning as the backdrop to the pandemic, presenters feel a new urgency to identify and present composers and performers with a range of perspectives and backgrounds. Streaming has spurred experimentation and reached new audiences - some of that should stick.
Ms. Seltzer concluded by inviting those listening to attend a concert this spring for a communal experience that will “help us start to repair.” Barring changes, PUC will offer concerts from March through the first week in May, and tickets are available online. She hopes to reconnect with all of us in Richardson Auditorium.
Opening the question period, Stephen Schreiber asked about the financial situation of PUC and its performing artists. Marna said that thanks to the Princeton endowment for the arts, PUC has paid 50% of fees to its artists. The PUC staff receives some government support. Last year there were no ticket sales for PUC; this year 100% of funds received will go to artists. PUC has had a number of virtual events, which have reached almost 20,000 people in the U.S. and abroad. People ordered take-out meals, the proceeds from which went to local non-profits, and ate while listening to the concert. A joint venture with the University of Michigan starred the mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato and was very successful. Top artists are more available due to Covid, of course, she noted.
As to the future, Ms. Seltzer described the system of identifying rising artists as robust, complex, and continuing to operate despite the pandemic. But she cautioned that there is no way of knowing how the lost years of performing will impact music. Her goal in presenting concerts has always been to have the audience leave Richardson determined to come to the next one. PUC has unfortunately lost a number of older subscribers for a number of reasons. Hybrid concerts are possible but doing them well is very expensive. The logistics of live performances now revolve around a host of technical questions: visas, travel arrangements, Covid and even blood testing, booster shots, and so forth, so it’s complicated. But PUC has an edge in the routing system: Artists often perform at PUC and the next day at Carnegie Hall. It helps that Princeton is an excellent stop between New York and Philadelphia.
Asked how the Gustavo Dudamel residency came about, Ms. Seltzer said that this was her big idea for the PUC 125th anniversary, and that when she called, she tried to be creative in her “ask.” Dudamel not only said yes but said he wanted to do not one but three concerts and bring his students from around the world to campus.
Ms. Seltzer was asked about her new book, Ways of Hearing: Reflections on Music in 26 Pieces, in which essays by professors, philosophers, artists, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg give their takes on the importance of music. She thinks Old Guard members would enjoy it and urges us to buy it from Labyrinth Books.
Asked about the relationship between PUC and the Lewis Center, Ms. Seltzer noted that PUC is part of Princeton’s music department, which is a degree-granting entity. Lewis addresses all the other branches of the arts, and its mission is students, whereas PUC, like the art museum, is public.
PUC has conducted four audience surveys since last spring. The main takeaways from the December survey are that 30-40% of the base is still sitting on the sidelines, and 60% say they are ready to go out but haven’t rejoined. Clearly some people have assimilated the risks, while others have become more risk averse. Overall, Ms. Seltzer feels that there has been a hardening of positions on both sides.
Respectfully submitted,
Priscilla Roosevelt