I’m a violist & co-director, with pianist Emily Rho, of Pocket Concerts, with a mission to use intimate, extraordinary listening experiences to build and sustain connections in our community. Since 2013, we have brought people together to share the transformative power of music in banks, hair salons, clothing stores, parks, condo party rooms, and dozens of homes.
Individually since COVID-19 hit, I’ve had to let go of all the work I had been hired for with The National Ballet of Canada and Canadian Opera Company Orchestras. I’ve also had to let go of chamber music performances with Canzona Concerts, The Elora Festival, and Off Centre. Pocket Concerts has had to postpone all of the public and private concerts that we had planned this spring (six concerts in total).
Once circumstances allow, we will follow through with all of the Pocket Concerts performances if and when it’s possible to gather in person again. We plan to present all of the postponed concerts at some point in the future, using the same hosts and the same artists whenever possible.
Meanwhile, instead of my performances, I’m practising repertoire that I wouldn’t normally play, writing more for the Pocket Concerts blog, and we have launched a Livestream concert series called Pocket Concerts Live, pivoting to presenting ticketed live-stream concerts, and selling tickets for these performances through our website. No longer bound by geography, we have engaged Canadian solo artists who live abroad and wouldn’t normally be able to perform with us. We have also set up a Patreon page so that people can support us with small monthly contributions. Our Patrons get access to our Livestream concerts, and the additional tickets we sell on our website are helping us to pay our musicians fully and promptly, including those whose performances have been postponed.
People reading this can stay in touch with what we are doing and planning by following me on Twitter at @Rory_McLeod or @pocketconcerts. For Pocket Concerts, the best way to stay in touch is to buy a ticket or subscribe to our mailing list through our website (www.pocketconcerts.ca). You can also follow us on Twitter/Instagram (@pocketconcerts), or follow our Facebook page (facebook.com/pocketconcertstoronto)
At time of writing, our next Pocket Concerts Live broadcast: Sunday, May 10th @10 AM EDT, Lucas Dann Live from Amsterdam.
