It is Saturday night, and my beloved Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra is performing  live at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium.

Illness has forced me to miss attending the Romantic Rachmaninoff concert, but through the wonders of modern-day streaming, RIPO has provided me with an access code to watch the concert live from the comfort of my own home.

My cat sits beside me, along with a cup of hot tea, as guest conductor, Kensho Wantanabe takes the podium to open the evening with Florence Price’s “Dances in the Canebrakes.”

I’m wondering how many shut-ins, nursing homes and people with disabilities could benefit from streaming live performances at RIPO, Trinity, PPAC and other venues.

Wantanabe performed on the Vets stage a year ago, when no other venue was providing live classical concerts, before a live audience  of 20-30 and an equal number of musicians.

Saturday night thousands of music lovers were in attendance (wearing masks) and many more, like me and my cat, were watching at home.

The highlight of the evening was pianists Natasha Paremski’s rendition of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major.

While my first choice is always watching and listening to music live, it was most interesting following the camera as it zeroed in on the keyboard and many of the soloists.

Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No.2 closed a most satisfying evening.

The Rhode Island Philharmonic has scheduled Handel’s Messiah, with the Providence Singers, for Sunday, Dec. 12, at 3 p.m. at Vets, followed by Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 (Da-da-da-ta!) on Jan. 22, two concerts led by maestro Bramwell Tovey not to be missed.

Check on streaming arrangements and available seats by calling 248-7000 or visiting riphil.org.