The first concert of the 2020 Savannah Music Festival was scheduled for this Thursday, March 26 at 12:30 p.m. At a time when Savannah Music Festival artists and audiences would have begun a 17-day gathering in historic venues and theaters, SMF is instead launching an online alternative to broadcast the spirit of the festival entitled SMF at Noon30.

Every day at 12:30 p.m. ET, from March 26 through April 11, at-home and in-studio video performances by 2020 festival artists will be posted to the SMF YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/SMForg) and to Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SavannahMusicFestival/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/savannahmusicfestival/).

Participants include Associate Artistic Director Mike Marshall with Caterina Lichtenberg, a mini-residency by Emmet Cohen (with his trio, with Melissa Aldana and with Veronica Swift), Chamber Music Artistic Advisor Philip Dukes, Germán López, Amythyst Kiah, Steve Riley, Marta Pereira da Costa, Martin Hayes, members of the Dover and Escher Quartets, Balsam Range, Associate Artistic Director Marcus Roberts, Allison de Groot, Drew Petersen, Bridget Kibbey and many others.

“Connecting artists and audiences in Savannah is what propels SMF,” says Savannah Music Festival Artistic Director Ryan McMaken. “Live music is irreplaceable, but in the absence of our annual gathering, our team is glad to offer this online substitution.”

Channels to support each artist directly will be posted along with their videos. Each artist will receive a stipend for their time.