Carnegie Hall Cancelling Season Up to Early April 2021

On Thursday, Carnegie Hall announced that it would be cancelling all upcoming shows until April 5, 2021 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement obtained by Newsweek, Carnegie Hall's executive and artistic director Clive Gillinson said, "It is heartbreaking to all of us to have to extend the closure of the Hall due to the COVID crisis, however we do so with the health of our public, artists, and staff front of mind."

He continued, "We will continue our close consultation with medical and health professionals as well as government officials to determine whether there is any possibility for live music to return in some capacity next spring. We know that everyone is eager for the performing arts to return to New York City and we are committed to exploring all avenues to bringing music back as soon as it is safe to do so. In the meanwhile, I remain deeply grateful to our entire Carnegie Hall team for their work enabling us to engage digitally with music lovers around the world, serving the mission of the Hall in exciting new ways."

On its website, Carnegie Hall had many events and concerts planned between January and April. Many of the concerts appear to have been planned for in-person, as seating charts are available, but tickets had not yet been placed on sale. It's not clear if these events will be rescheduled when concert venues can have shows again.

A complete list of cancellations can be found on Carnegie Hall's website. A press release said that further information on Spring and Summer programming for 2021 would be announced early next year.

The historic New Yorkg concert venue had previously announced that, in the interest of safety, it was cancelling all events in scheduled between October and December in a June press release. "This was a very difficult decision for us to make, however the safety of Carnegie Hall's artists, audiences, and staff is paramount," Gillinson said in a statement at the time.

At the time, Gillinson said that restrictions surrounding the virus made it difficult for the hall to reopen safely. "After consulting with medical professionals and other experts on a continuing basis, we have concluded, in the face of current government restrictions and social distancing protocols, that there is no other option but to extend the Hall's closure through the end of the calendar year, allowing health conditions to continue to improve. While this has been an enormously challenging time for all of us, we remain focused on preparing for when we will be together again and, in the meanwhile, actively engaging audiences digitally in service of our musical mission," he said.

Prior to the June announcement, the concert hall was one of many venues to announce that it was cancelling shows as shutdowns began in March. Carnegie first cancelled events throughout March and later cancelled events through May 10. The rest of the season's cancellation was announced at the beginning of April.

Despite fans having to wait a little longer to return to performances in person at the historic venue, Carnegie, like many other iconic venues, has held livestreams and virtual performances throughout the pandemic. Concerts and master classes have been streamed on Carnegie's Facebook page and YouTube channel. The music hall has a number of performers lined up for online performances, including the Kronos Quartet and a tribute to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Carnegie is the latest venue to announce that it would remain closed during the pandemic. Earlier this month, Broadway announced that it would remain dark until June 2021.