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The stage lights will soon go up at the Capitol Theater with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra once again offering in-person concerts, marking another milestone in Windsor’s return to normal.
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The province is set to lift COVID-19 capacity restrictions at all public indoor settings on March 1, paving the way for a packed house at the Capitol’s 625-seat Pentastar hall.
The WSO begins its round of live shows on March 12 and 13 by highlighting Beethoven with the Tepperman Masterworks: A Hero’s Symphony.
“We pivoted pretty hard toward live streaming and digital concerts during the pandemic, and I think that was a great way to stay connected with our audience,” said Maestro Robert Franz. “But there’s something about sitting in the hall and having the sound of an entire orchestra just envelope you. There’s the vibrations of the sound, the feel of the sound. There’s something about that energy that just cannot be replicated digitally.”
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The WSO is among many local cultural organizations and businesses making plans and expanding operations after the province started easing pandemic restrictions.
That’s the goal, to get back to some sort of normalcy
It began Feb. 17 with the lifting of several restrictions, including capacity limits in places were proof of vaccination is required, such as bars, gyms, movie theaters, bingo halls, convention centers, casinos and restaurants.
“It’s been great, like a breath of fresh air,” said Nick Politi, owner of the popular Erie Street eatery Nico Taverna. “It feels like normalcy, finally, after two years. People are better in moods. It’s been all positive.”
Throughout the pandemic, when he was allowed to open at all, Politi said he had to turn away customers.
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“It will be nice to keep up with demand now because we’ve been turning away a lot of people, especially on the weekend,” he said. “We’re still getting booked up but at least we can accept more people, because it always hurts business turning people away for whatever reason. After a while, they give up.”
On March 1, if “public health and health care indicators continue to improve,” the province said it will lift proof of vaccine requirements and capacity limits in all indoor settings.
Mask mandates are still in place but Dr. Kieran Moore, the province’s chief medical officer of health, has said his team will review that rule in mid-March.
“We’re also excited about March 1,” said Politi. “We won’t have to check QR codes. That will make things even easier. We’re super happy. Everybody’s excited. My staff, the customers.”
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The City of Windsor announced this week that more if its recreation and culture programs are available again as the provincial reopening expands. Among them are the Learn-to-Swim classes, which will resume in March after a two-year pause.
The city said the Chimczuk Museum and Francois Baby House have reopened. Proof of vaccination is not necessary, though screening, masking and physical distancing are still required.
Earlier this month, in anticipation of easing of capacity restrictions, Caesars Windsor also put tickets on sale for a lineup of live shows stretching into the summer.
The Windsor Symphony Orchestra briefly started doing live performances in September — after 18 months away — with crowd sizes limited to 25 per cent of capacity. But a spike the Omicron variant put a quick end to that in December.
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The musicians return again in March, beginning with one of Beethoven’s most celebrated boundary-breaking works.
“Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony, which we’re starting with March 12 and 13, is literally one of the most important pieces at the juncture of classical music that there is,” said Franz. “It really represents as a piece of music the change, not only in Beethoven, but it how people thought about music. The scale of music, the scope of music, what music could accomplish.”
On March 26 and 27, singer Colleen Williams will join the symphony to present Toldo Pops: Great American Song Book Reimagined, with music from Gershwin, Rogers and Hammerstein, Barbra Streisand, Peggy Lee, Barry Manilow, and Billy Joel.
“Even though it’s going to be with a full symphony orchestra and a full house at the Pentastar at the Capitol Theatre, Colleen will make it feel like an intimate cabaret-style evening with her singing these songs,” said Franz. “She just has that capability of making everyone in the room feel like they’re her best friend and she’s right there with them and communicating with them. I think especially after what we’ve been through, that’s a particularly important quality to bring out.”
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There’s also one for the family on April 9. The WSO will re-tell the tale of Zhen Yi Sao, “the most powerful pirate in history,” based on Helaine Becker’s children’s book The Pirate Queen.
Franz said those concerts are only the beginning of the comeback.
“We likely will have a few more this spring,” he said. “Of course, what we’re really doing right now is putting together plans for a quote-unquote normal season next year. That’s the goal, to get back to some sort of normalcy.”
For WSO tickets and more concert details, go to windsorsymphony.com.