Then COVID-19 changed everything.
Now the Eugene Symphony has returned to the Hult Center stage for a virtual performance, using the Hult’s new cameras purchased with state arts funding made available from the CARES Act to record the concert. With the new equipment, the upcoming symphony concert is the first of upcoming streamable performances from the Hult’s two stages.
Hult Center General Manager Theresa Sizemore says at the start of the pandemic the venue used the downtime as an opportunity to make some enhancements to the stage. Because the Hult is owned and operated by the city of Eugene, when it was awarded money from the CARES Act, the money could only be used to buy PPE-related material and to cover business recovery costs, such as cameras to help bring people back to the stage.