Thanks to COVID-19, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra made an early decision, back in April, to call off live performances for its 2020 festival, Summermusik.
In the months since, thanks in part to some timely PPP funding and the generosity of CCO donors, the organization created a series of al fresco and other socially distanced chamber events called CCO2GO to keep players engaged and the CCO name in front of the public.
And during the same period, music director Eckart Preu and his creative team have been taking advantage of technology to develop a virtual Summermusik for 2020. Several of these dozen August offerings are “rewinds” of CCO2GO events, and some feature guest artists (live) and performances from previous seasons.
“Due to the generosity of the hundreds of individuals and organizations who support the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, we are pleased to be able to offer a 13-event virtual festival this August,” said executive director LeAnne Anklan. “All of us at the CCO value community engagement, and we are thrilled to have been able to send small ensembles of musicians to play all over our community during these difficult times. We are excited to share some look-back content for those CCO2GO events, as well as share some new videos with our CCO family.”
View free concerts, Aug. 8-29.
This week’s virtual Summermusik concerts…

CCO2GO Rewind | Zoo Review
Saturday, Aug. 8 | 7:30 p.m. | Virtual Watch Party
A look back at the CCO’s summer partnership with Cincinnati Zoo, featuring a CCO string quartet serenading the animals.

eConcerts with Eckart | Silver-Garburg Piano Duo
Sunday, Aug. 9 | 4 p.m. | Virtual Live Event
CCO music director Eckart Preu will be joined by Sivan Silver and Gil Garburg, in conversation and performance.

eCrawl | Creative Compositions
Tuesday, Aug. 11 | 7:30 p.m. | Virtual Watch Party
A creative collaboration between Summermusik 2018 MusikArt visual artist Cedric Michael Cox, CCO second trumpet Wesley Woolard and CCO principal oboe Christopher Philpotts. Plus, guests learn how they can bid on the final work of art to support both Cedric and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra.