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Philadelphia Orchestra postpones online gala

Steve Martin and Wynton Marsalis, who were to perform, will appear at the rescheduled event. The original time slot will now host a contemplative livestream on racial injustice including a conversation with Marsalis and composer Valerie Coleman.

Composer Valerie Coleman, seen here with the Philadelphia Orchestra in September following the premiere performance of her "Umoja, Anthem for Unity" by the Philadelphia Orchestra in Verizon Hall. Her new piece dedicated to front-line workers will receive its world premiere virtually Saturday night, and she will be part of a conversation on racial injustice.
Composer Valerie Coleman, seen here with the Philadelphia Orchestra in September following the premiere performance of her "Umoja, Anthem for Unity" by the Philadelphia Orchestra in Verizon Hall. Her new piece dedicated to front-line workers will receive its world premiere virtually Saturday night, and she will be part of a conversation on racial injustice.Read moreThe Philadelphia Orchestra

Citing larger national events, the Philadelphia Orchestra has postponed its online gala originally slated for Saturday night with Steve Martin, Wynton Marsalis, and others. Instead, the orchestra has constructed an online event of conversation and contemplation about racial injustice.

The June 6 gala has been moved to June 20 with its original guests.

» READ MORE: Here’s live coverage of what’s happening June 4

“It’s the wrong moment. We’re in the middle of a national tragedy on so many levels. It just doesn’t feel right to do a joyful celebratory event on Saturday night," said orchestra president and CEO Matías Tarnopolsky. “We need to do something to respond to the moment, reflect, and listen deeply.”

Marsalis will still be on hand this Saturday night, but in conversation with composer Valerie Coleman, whose Seven O’Clock Shout, inspired by frontline workers in the COVID-19 pandemic, will still receive its world premiere. Coleman’s stirring piece, Umoja, was the first classical work by a living African American woman performed by the orchestra, last fall.

» READ MORE: Valerie Coleman’s stirring ‘Umoja’ is a Philadelphia Orchestra milestone: The first classical work by a living African American woman that they have performed.

Tarnopolsky said the conversation element is being convened in part to “help ask questions, to know which questions to ask. We need to be listening more acutely now and much more purposefully to chart a path to equity throughout our community.”

Saturday night’s online event will be dedicated to George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, “and the countless Black Lives wrongfully and tragically lost before them, and to the value and dignity of all Black Lives,” the orchestra said in a letter sent Thursday to its constituents, signed by Tarnopolsky and music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

To various extents over the past two decades, the orchestra has been active in developing concerts and programs that meet underserved communities in the city and neighborhoods. It has commissioned numerous works from black composers, and recently has made women an integral part of its programming and conducting staff.

The composition of the ensemble itself, however, has been slow to change. In a city that is about 44% black, the orchestra itself has only three black members — or 3%.

“We need to do better," said Tarnopolsky. "It’s the Philadelphia Orchestra. We are of Philadelphia. We need to do better.”

As for when or how, he said: “There are ideas. We need to turn ideas into plans. We need to turn those plans into action.”

The orchestra’s HearTOGETHER live stream, Saturday at 7 p.m., will be available at philorch.org and on the orchestra’s Facebook page.