Orchestra of New Spain Holds First Live Concert in Dallas, Sparking Controversy From the Community

According to The Dallas Morning News, the Orchestra of New Spain is facing controversy after holding its first concert since the start of the health crisis on Friday night.

The concert happened to be held on the day that Dallas County topped its previous high for the number of new cases of COVID-19.

The hour-long concert included 11 string players, all who were wearing masks and social distancing. The 45 audience members were required to wear masks and social distance, as well.

The controversy began on Facebook, when members of the community expressed disagreement with the concert being held.

"Now is not the time to reopen live, ticketed music events," said Miguel Cantu IV, a violist and co-founder of the American Baroque Opera Co., in a Facebook post.

ONS music director Grover Wilkins III responded to the negative reactions, saying, "they're allowed their opinion," and that he's "not an irresponsible person."

"Behind the decision to perform was our belief [...] that the size of our following is sufficiently limited and the general audience for early music sufficiently limited that we could easily control all the parameters," Wilkins said.

Read more on The Dallas Morning News.