VSO Suspends 2020-21 Subscriptions
Click here to donate or request a refund for tickets to spring 2020 concerts cancelled due to COVID-19 or for suspended 20-21 Season Ticket Subscriptions.
A Letter from Angela Elster, President & CEO
Dear VSO audience members and supporters,
After much consideration and thought, the VSO has reached the difficult decision to suspend our subscription sales for the 2020-21 season. This is not a decision that is made easily or lightly, however, I wanted to reach out to you personally and ensure that you hear it from us first and are fully aware of the process and options for returning your 2020-21 season ticket package. I also wanted to bring you up to date on what we will be able to present for our next season. In spite of the continued restrictions on large gatherings, we have some innovative and exciting musical offerings in the works.
These last few months have been eventful, demanding, and rewarding. Faced with the necessity of cancelling the remainder of our 2019-20 Season, we seized the opportunity to launch our first livestreams, create the VSO@Home series, design a suite of online VSO education modules, transition all VSO School of Music lessons and programs online, and start working on plans for our future in the COVID era. The music will not stop.
Your continued support through this period is deeply appreciated. We have had over 300,000 views of our online performances, with many of you regularly tuning in to watch our VSO@Home premieres. You are purchasing virtual tickets and donating tickets for cancelled concerts. Your support is invaluable and, combined with the Federal Government’s Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, has helped us keep our musicians and staff employed throughout the crisis. Thank you. We are grateful.
Right now it is hard to predict the future. For the past three months our Board of Directors and management team have been analyzing, planning, and reimagining what a Symphony can be in the COVID era. We have created a number of models for socially distanced performances, a delay to the season start, digital performances, and an increased community presence.
It is clear at this point that we cannot offer anything resembling our original season plan for some time to come. As a result, we are suspending our subscription campaign as of today and inviting subscription ticket holders to consider donating their tickets back in support of the VSO, or to accept a refund for their tickets. You will find details below on how to proceed.
We will not invite you to the concert hall if we do not believe we have a safe and approved method of welcoming you. We have submitted a draft reopening plan to the Provincial Government and await a response. We are also looking to our colleagues in Europe who are currently experimenting with a number of formats for socially distanced seating. We are watching them closely and will derive best practices from their experiences for us to use this fall.
2020-21 will be the 102nd season of the VSO. It will not be a dark season. The show will go on. Our musicians and maestro are bursting with projects and ideas to make the best of any and all situations which may emerge. We can’t wait to share the new plan for our resilient VSO with you later this summer.
In the meantime, we need your support now more than ever. If you have not yet, please consider making a donation to support the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, our musicians and our team, who are working tirelessly through this crisis to keep the music going. You can donate now here.
On behalf of Maestro Tausk, the musicians of the VSO, our board and staff, I thank you for your support and patience as we all carve a path forward in this new COVID era.
Sincerely,
Angela Elster,
President & CEO
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra & VSO School of Music
2020-21 VSO Subscription Package Return Process
The VSO has suspended subscriptions for the 2020-21 season. 2019-20 season ticket holders will have their seats held for the 2021-22 season. Seat preferences that were updated for the 2020-21 season will also be held for the 2021-22 season.
Please complete our ticket return form here to donate or request a refund of your 2020-21 Season Ticket Package.
The deadline to complete the return request form is June 30, 2020.
The form gives you the option to donate your subscription package, request a refund, or donate a portion of the value of your package and request a refund for the rest.
If you purchased by credit card, we will automatically process refund amounts back to your credit card on file. It should appear in the first few weeks of July.
If you paid by cheque, we will issue a refund cheque and mail it in the first few weeks of July. It may take until early August to arrive as we are experiencing longer than expected delivery times with Canada Post.
Ticket donation tax receipts will be issued throughout July.
