Music in the time of Coronavirus

These are trying times. My heart goes out to all of the medical professionals on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as anyone affected by the disease. But the truth is that everyone is being asked to make sacrifices.

Musicians are no exception. Performances are cancelled, pay suspended, venues gone dark. Arts organizations are fighting for survival, and individual artists face the prospect of bankruptcy. At the same time, music is irrepressible — stories abound of people across the world under lockdown singing and playing to each other across deserted alleys.

In this time, I’m grateful for what I have — my loved ones, a versatile career, health insurance. More than that, I’m grateful to have a personal practice in music, which to me is a life-affirming and humanity-affirming pursuit. I’ve written about the importance of having a practice here on this blog before, but it seems even more important in times of crisis.

Such was my message in the latest post for my weekly column on the Tonebase Piano Blog. If you haven’t seen it yet, Tonebase is creating an online repository of video lessons and interviews from today’s most distinguished pianists, and I’ve been happy to add my thoughts to the mix.

Click here to read this week’s post, “Piano in the Time of COVID-19.”

Until we know this is behind us, wishing you all calm, peace, and health.