During his tenure, the chamber orchestra launched a free online concert library, offering children and students free tickets and creating a rainy day fund. That fund, along with private donations and federal support, helped the SPCO continue to pay its staff and musicians even after COVID-19 shuttered stages.
“It was really becoming clear in the spring of 2020 that we were in for a long time period of not doing concerts, and it was going to be turbulent and challenging,” Limbacher said. “We made a commitment to maintain compensation for staff and the orchestra.
“We all feel really good about that.”
It was Limbacher’s planning “that brought the SPCO through the pandemic in better financial shape than most orchestras in the country and has put us in a strong position to deal with the hard issues now facing the arts community,” said Deborah Palmer, chair of the SPCO board of directors, in a statement.
