One month before the pandemic, Paul Helfrich became the new executive director of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra after a nationwide search. The year had a lot in store as the Philharmonic prepared for its 28th season and the much-anticipated move into Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts, but COVID-19 had cast a shadow over it all.

“In hindsight you realize how little we knew early on,” Helfrich says. “The prevailing thought was that it would be a couple of months and we would just have to buckle down and get through. As it went on, it became clear that was not the case and we began working on figuring out how to perform if public performances were not possible.”

Helfrich says approximately one in five philharmonics across the country were able to have live performances due to the pandemic. With the Florida climate on its side, the Orlando Philharmonic was able to continue with its season beginning in September 2020 by playing in a variety of outdoor venues and—with the exception of one event—all scheduled performances went on. 

Orlando Family Magazine spoke with Helfrich to learn more about what brought him to Florida and what’s to come for the organization.

From the Midwest to the Sunshine State…

I grew up in Southeastern, Pennsylvania, but became a Midwesterner when I attended Indiana University where I obtained both a master of arts in administration and a bachelor of music. I spent the better part of 40 years in that part of the country through my career, including executive roles with West Virginia Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, Kalamazoo Symphony Society and most recently I was in Dayton, Ohio, serving as president of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra for four years before leading the merger of the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance of which I was president and CEO for eight years.

Performing in a pandemic…

As the pandemic proved to be longer than we initially expected, we had to figure out a way to play outside and as it got closer to the opening of our season [in 2020], state and county officials were comfortable with those plans as long as we could maintain proper distancing. We opened our season on Sept. 26, making history as the first professional orchestra to perform at a U.S. soccer stadium. 

Exploria was one of five new venues where we performed during the season. We played in Festival Park, parking lots for smaller concerts and even indoors at a mega church with 3,000 seats where we could distance appropriately with just one-third capacity. Of course we also had to distance among the orchestra, so instead of 75 musicians, we would have about 50. Musicians except for brass and wind wore masks and we did safety and temperature checks prior to every rehearsal and performance. We also made concerts shorter and eliminated intermissions to limit any mingling. I’m proud of what we accomplished. We think we’re one of only a handful or orchestras to play the whole season—many were not playing or were only virtual.

Reaching more people virtually…

One of our biggest programs is the Young People’s Concerts. Every school in Orange County brings its fifth grade class to a concert. Over the course of three weeks we see over 60,000 students. But since field trips were not happening we decided to record a concert and distribute that to districts and a few other schools as well. Over 75,000 students viewed the program and it expanded our reach. We are doing it again this year but I think by 2022 we will be back to doing it in person.

I think some of the virtual elements will have a place moving forward. Live performances are our bread and butter focus, but we may do more instances of recording performances and releasing them for streaming at a later date. The technology also opens up possibilities to include a special guest performer who is not in Orlando but could perform on screen remotely during a live performance. 

Exciting plans for the future…

One of the things we’re most looking forward to is our move into Steinmetz Hall. Unfortunately, construction and plans to open were all impacted by the pandemic. We expect it to happen sometime in 2022, but we’re eager to be part of it.

In our upcoming season of concerts beginning in the fall we have some great performances planned. In our classical series, violinist Gil Shaham will perform Beethoven’s concerto; and in the pop series I’m particularly excited about The Celtic Tenors—they are one of the best groups at what they do—and The John Pizzarelli Trio. 

Classics and pop are our flagship performances, but we also have more intimate concerts as well as Symphony Story Time, which is fantastic for families and holds the attention span of little ones. It was nice to continue offering those during the pandemic when families did not have much else available to them for entertainment.   

On the Orlando community…

This organization is blessed to have a loyal family of subscribers and a generous community that includes city and county governments, philanthropic foundations and individual donors who are all supportive of us and the arts. In cities where the arts are valued and seen, it attracts new residents and helps the city thrive. Of course I love the weather and the fact that I can go swimming in a pool in January, but I love the diversity of the cultures here. I’m a foodie and the culinary options are so appealing. But overall, I’m encouraged by the enthusiasm for the orchestra and I hope to marshal that and help it continue to grow.