The Show Will Go On

20 Apr The Show Will Go On

One year ago, the world came to a halt.

We stayed home. Restaurants closed their dining rooms. Our plans for concerts, travel, parties, and anything resembling a gathering were suddenly all canceled. Like many areas that connect with community and audiences, the arts felt the hard impact of this pandemic very keenly. From theaters to galleries, artists across Evansville and the Tri-State found themselves at home with no shows or performances to complete.

But, as the old adage goes, “the show must go on,” and it did. These four artists — representing the artistic disciplines of acting, painting, orchestral music, and medium art — share not only their stories, but the paths they forged during the pandemic. See how their creativity flourished and they found new ways to share their talents during lockdown.

There was no standard or musical inclination in Roger Kalia’s family, other than an appreciation for creative, performative art. A young Kalia growing up in the small town of Manhasset, New York, on Long Island, however, found himself pulled down a path toward a career in music.

“What changed my life was when we had the opportunity to see the New York Philharmonic,” says the 36-year-old. “During that performance, I noticed the conductor and how much of an influence on the sound that conductor had. That stuck with me.”

A year later, Kalia joined the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York where he was able to tour China with friends and fellow musicians. The trip changed him, he says, deciding music was something he wanted to dedicate his life to.

Though he was born in New York, Kalia is no stranger to Indiana. He began his musical studies at the SUNY Potsman’s Crane School of Music in upstate New York, majoring in music education and trumpet performance. Having solidified in his mind he wanted to become a conductor, Kalia began graduate studies at the University of Houston, Texas. He then came to Bloomington, Indiana, enrolling at Indiana University for his doctorate in orchestral conducting.

“When I was studying at IU (from 2009 to 2013), a lot of my friends played in the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. And they told me how it was a really good orchestra,” says Kalia.

That combination of knowledge about EPO from friends and fellow musicians, as well as learning about the high level the orchestra played prompted Kalia to do a little more research on the organization. Pulling up photos of the historic Victory Theatre and seeing a diverse repertoire being performed was the final push in convincing him to apply for the open music director position three years ago.

The long process (which included Kalia leading a performance of the EPO) concluded with Kalia being chosen as the new director in early April 2020. Plans to host a concert to introduce the new maestro as well as bid farewell to longtime music director Alfred Savia began. But COVID-19 quickly changed that, as it did many things last year.

“It was tough. There was talk of moving the introduction to May and then we realized we had to cancel the rest of the season,” says Kalia.

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