News From Britt Hill – July 2020

Our valley is yearning for art and culture in this moment of great uncertainty. For Britt to make music this summer for our audiences—in whatever configuration is safe and feasible—will be a joy for our staff and wonderful musicians. We hope our virtual programming will inspire you through the great repertoire of past and present, reaffirming our humanity.

Over recent months, our staff have been dreaming about what a virtual summer season could look and sound like, and how to fulfill our mission in ways beyond live concerts. Our hope is to bring the unique Britt Festival magic of music, people, and nature into your homes. The virtual engagement will include BrittVids featuring regional musicians and of course, the BrittKids Koncerts. In addition, some of our favorite recordings from the past five years of Britt Festival Orchestra performances will stream on our Facebook page in July and August. These will include Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, and Michael Gordon’s Natural History, the piece we premiered at Crater Lake in 2016. Recordings will be shown with discussions about the works with members of the BFO and Music Director Teddy Abrams.

Gratefully, many businesses are returning to some semblance of normal. We hope Jacksonville businesses are on their way to a robust summer season and recovery. Unfortunately, performing arts organizations, like Britt, were among the first to shut down and will be among the last to re-open.

Effective July 1, Britt will furlough 80% of its staff, including myself. A skeleton crew of three part-time employees will stay on to handle virtual engagement and finances.

Over the past seven years, Britt has endured smoke, weather delays, blackouts and now a pandemic. Today, we understand that our new reality will have long-term implications for Jacksonville businesses and the quality of life for our citizens. Our previous community leaders never could have foreseen these conditions. As you might know, Britt operates under a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) that allows Britt to have concerts spanning from mid-June to mid-September.

Because of our new norm, Britt has applied to the City of Jacksonville’s Planning Commission to amend our current CUP to allow Britt to operate mid-May through mid-October. This extension would offer significant programming opportunities and revenue creation for our entire community. The extension could also serve as unifying and stabilizing forces for our region, both culturally and economically.

We believe that the shared sacrifice we are all facing now will result in a healthy and more unified community. Please stay safe, be kind, and remain hopeful. Music will return to the Britt Hill. News from the Britt Hill will return in October.