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There are plenty of advantages to getting your arts fix online: no bad seats, performances start on your schedule, you can watch shows happening in other cities, and sometimes you even get a peek inside your favorite celebrity’s house.
As the rise in coronavirus cases keeps us sheltered at home, more arts organizations are finding creative ways to get their work out to the community and keep us engaged and connected.
Whether it’s self-taped cabaret concerts or celebrity-filled Shakespeare plays, here are this week’s best bets of arts currently streaming online.
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If you like a schedule
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)
Spreckels Organ Society
Going to a show is a ritual. You buy tickets, set the date in your calendar, figure out what to wear, what to eat beforehand, where to park. Losing this familiar routine isn’t easy, especially for those who went to the theater or concerts as a way to socialize.
So if you want to keep some sort of regular schedule, turn to the Spreckels Organ Society.
The beloved Sunday organ concerts will continue to take place every week, only instead of listening to the majestic outdoor organ at Balboa Park, you’ll be able to stream a new performance every Sunday starting at 2 p.m.
Civic organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez will pre-record that week’s performance (it will not be live, so do not show up at the park) and it will be posted for viewing at spreckelsorgan.org.
Take things one step further by putting together a charcuterie board and taking your snacks and device outside (if your WiFi reaches that far).
San Diego Symphony
The San Diego Symphony recently canceled or rescheduled all concerts through May 2. But don’t forget that the organization’s been streaming its Jacobs Masterworks concerts long before coronavirus.
Every Sunday at 8 p.m. you can hear a full symphony concert on KPBS 89.5 FM. As always, these programs were recorded live and are replayed on the airwaves for free. They are also streamed live on kpbs.org.
Coming up: March 29 featuring conductor Johannes Debus with mandolin player Avi Avital in a program featuring music by Purcell, Vivaldi, Bach and Stravinsky among others (originally performed Dec. 7 and 8, 2018). On April 5 you’ll hear conductor Jahja Ling with pianist Stephen Hough in a concert with music by Kernis, Beethoven and Brahms (originally performed May 22-24, 2015).
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If you want to see local artists
(Sam Hodgson/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
All of a sudden San Diego’s vast community of artists and musicians are without work, but that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped performing.
Over at Lamb’s Players Theatre‘s Facebook page, you can find favorite San Diego actors like Sandy Campbell, Katie Sapper, G. Scott Lacey and many others perform comforting songs or musical selections from their homes.
It’s all part of Lamb’s Apart / Together series, where, for example, you can see Geno Carr (“Come From Away” on Broadway) and Nancy Carr sing “What A Wonderful World” with their young son, Elliott, as they read the lyrics out of a colorful storybook. It’s just what you need when you feel out of sorts.
Also on Facebook is the San Diego Virtual Cabaret page, where you can watch snippets of past local plays, videos from dance classes, singing self-tapes and so much more.
And The PGK Dance Project released an on-demand version of its postponed “Holding Tight” modern dance performance. The video also includes interviews with choreographers, behind-the-scenes photos of the dancers, and even interactive questions. It’s available for donations at various levels starting at $5 at thepgkdanceproject.org.
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If you need a brain boost
Maybe you’ve been watching a lot of trashy shows on Netflix and you’re ready for something a bit more stimulating.
Shakespeare’s Globe theater in London is streaming past productions of Shakespeare comedies, tragedies and histories, including “Hamlet” with women in the leads as Hamlet and Horatio; “Twelfth Night” featuring favorite English actors Stephen Fry and Mark Rylance; and a 2009 version of “Romeo & Juliet” starring Ellie Kendrick and Adetomiwa Edun.
You can find them and so many more at globeplayer.tv, but each stream will cost about $7 to rent and about $14 to own.
Also streaming from London are ballet and opera performances from the Royal Opera House. Every Friday, you can find a new production on the ROH Facebook page and YouTube channel.
The lineup so far includes the 2010 ballet, “Peter and the Wolf,” streaming now; on April 3 it’s the 2009 opera production “Acis and Galatea”; April 10 is the opera “Così fan tutte” recorded in 2010; and April 17 is a ballet version of Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis,” originally performed in 2013.
Do you have a streaming performance to include in a future roundup? Email nina@pacificsandiego.com with details.