The San Francisco Symphony has canceled the fall portion of its 2020-21 season.

The company announced that due to COVID-19, the orchestra “has been guided by a belief that we must ‘plan for the worst while hoping for the better.’ However, in accordance with guidelines from the State of California and City of San Francisco, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all San Francisco Symphony concerts through December 31, 2020.”

In a press release, CEO Mark C. Hanson noted, “While we are deeply disappointed to not present the exciting lineup of live concerts we had planned for Fall 2020, including the start of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s tenure as Music Director and a festival of events featuring our eight Collaborative Partners, we know this action is necessary in order to ensure the health and safety of our Orchestra, Chorus, staff, and audiences.”

The San Francisco Symphony’s decision follows in line with similar choices made by San Francisco Opera, New York Philharmonic, and Metropolitan Opera to postpone the openings of their respective 2020-21 seasons.