Instead, the orchestra will focus on its community-partnership projects, which include free concerts in African American churches, and its Regional Pops series, with concerts in Green Township, Batesville, Troy, and Washington Courthouse, Ohio.
"This emphasis on community partnerships is consistent with the CSO's commitment to reaching out to diverse and underserved communities," a statement from the orchestra read.
The Concerts in Parks were drawing fewer people, orchestra president Steven Monder told the Cincinnati Enquirer; moreover, he added, the 38-year-old series has served its purpose. "When we started," Monder said, "the programs they were terrific and innovative and addressed CSO priorities at that time, to relate to as big a segment of our community as we could."