The Final Movement: How Orchestral Musicians Kept Music Alive During COVID-19
Credit: Xach Hill from Pexels
Originally Published December 5th, 2020 for The Future of Our World
The pandemic has not made it easy for orchestral musicians. As Erie Philharmonic Guest Concertmaster Emily Cornelius said in regard to musicians adjusting due to the pandemic, “For most of us musicians, it’s not just the job; it’s our whole identity, it’s our whole world, it’s an extension of our personality.”
This change is causing many musicians to find small ways to continue to do their work, whether through teaching or playing at a distance, or engaging in virtual conversations with other musicians. Even in the Mid-Atlantic region, there is a wide variation of how individual musicians go about their daily lives. These five musicians, in four different orchestras, in three different states, each have a different experience. But together, they tell a story of hope and survival for music beyond COVID-19.
Jonathan Sherwin, Principal Contrabassoonist, The Cleveland Orchestra
Jonathan Sherwin (Credit: The Plain Dealer)
Jonathan Sherwin remembers life before the pandemic. But even then, he began hearing of the virus months before the lockdown. “Life was, like for so many people, not just in the music business, was normal. In my imagination, of all the things that can happen in the world, this was not one of them.”
He began to wonder about the possibility of COVID-19 spreading, and how it could affect the United States. The last concert the Cleveland Orchestra played was in the middle of March, with an international tour to Europe and Abu Dhabi in the works.
“In February, there was some hope that it was going to happen,” he said, “but it became obvious that it wasn’t going to be possible.”
“This is like nothing we had ever seen, and it was usually the stuff of fiction with the possibility of it being real, but I don’t think any of us had really ever confronted the reality of what this could possibly turned into, which it has,” Sherwin explains. “As each month has gone by, it’s dawned with us that we’re going to be dealing with this for a while.”
Daily life became an obstacle, and being confined to the home became a challenge for Sherwin. “We’re creatures of routine, and this is the great upsetting of routines. My habit is to get up in the morning and go to rehearsal; if there happens not be a rehearsal that morning, then it’s practice. It’s really had a remarkable impact on my life and all the people in the orchestra here.”
With this routine interrupted, Sherwin sought to adapt to changing circumstances by building a new routine. “For me, it’s always good to have a project to do. I sort of had a little practice routine that’s somewhat different. In the morning, after breakfast, I come up to my studio in the second floor of my house and play some music. I have a warm-up routine that includes scales and arpeggios.”
Part of this practice schedule is rooted in nostalgia. “I’ve returned to etudes and exercises that I did when I was a student. This has sort of been kind of a nice return to some things. It’s also been kind of a reawakening of how good it is to practice the nuts and bolts; the meat and potatoes of playing,” he added with a chuckle. Sherwin has also taken on small projects using the app Acapella, creating virtual bassoon quartets, along with participating in various digital projects with The Cleveland Orchestra.
These projects include the app Adella, which is “Your all-new online digital home for streaming music entertainment from The Cleveland Orchestra” and offers “exclusive access to The Cleveland Orchestra’s new In Focus broadcast series, in addition to other on-demand music-entertainment through Adella Premium.” The app offers streaming of the socially-distanced concerts the orchestra recently began, along with a podcast and program notes.
He has also continued to teach students over Zoom, but that has its own challenges. “I’m grateful to do that, but I’m also impatient with it because it’s not as good as being there. Teaching is so much better when it’s done in-person.”
Sherwin had a lot of empathy for the students in this position.
“I feel badly for the students because this is a great time. This is when students absorb things. You’re at a perfect age where we throw stuff out at you and absorb it because it’s retainable. I think this is an additional challenge for students to try and assimilate into and try to get as much as they can out of it.”
Often times, Sherwin enjoys playing with his students, but timing with Internet connection and sound quality makes it tricky. “There’s still something missing without that in-person connection.”
“We always say live music is best, and I think certainly in the times we’re living, this is a lot better than no music,” Sherwin said in regards to the new virtual audience and education. “This is the closest thing you can come to live music without you being in the same space.”
Throughout this year, Sherwin credits music as helping his mental health. “For those of us who have music as a central part of our life, it’s important for us to keep playing. Having these little projects to do has been very good.”
Jim Nova, Trombone, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Brian Kushmaul, Principal Percussion, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
Jim Nova (Credit: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
Jim Nova, the second trombonist for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, has not missed a day of practice since the shutdown began. Calling it meditative, the routine helps him maintain a sense of normalcy.
Practicing has been very important to Nova, whose YouTube videos have had over 100,000 views. The regiments used for warm-ups and practice are what Nova calls a ‘daily routine.’ He listed off musical terms familiar to any musician, but especially to trombones; scales, arpeggios, and long tones.
Performance of Yoda’s Theme by Jim Nova in memory of Norman Bolter
“[For] brass players, [they] usually have some set of practice just to maintain their playing. This is separate from prepared music or setting the scores or listening to pieces you’re going to perform.”
Along with playing, Nova also serves as a brass instructor and coordinator at Duquesne University. The school had gone all virtual in March, and Nova has used multitrack recording to help his students. This involves recording all the parts separately and putting them together to have a full recording.
“I’ve been teaching that technology long before the pandemic,” Nova explained. “Once the pandemic hit, my phone was ringing off the hook because every player and musician I knew wanted to know how to do it.”
He gave the assignments to students, and they worked well for both the students and him.
Duquesne University was in-person for the fall semester, and they followed strict rules and guidelines established for reopening by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The music school did not have any infections, according to Nova.
Nova explained there were no large groups playing, and there was a system for brass players. “[They] used covers on their bells when they’re playing, and pull their masks up when they’re not playing. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than online.”
The cover on the bell can affect tone, tuning, and overall sound quality of the instrument, with the quality of the product playing a large part. “When I’m teaching, I use one, and I can tell there’s a difference. But it’s worth that lessening of the quality slightly to be able to hear the player in-person. Thank goodness no microphone or speaker can match the human ear.”
Teaching in-person has affected other musicians as well. Brian Kushmaul is a part-time teacher at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. “I’m teaching private lessons, one-on-one, mostly to college students.”
Brian Kushmaul (Credit: Chautauqua Institution)
The lessons, similar to Nova, are in-person with certain precautions. “It’s only me and one student in the room at a time,” Kushmaul explains. “I’m at one end of the room, and they’re at the other end of the room. We’re wearing masks…and we’re staying at least twelve feet apart. When a new student walks in, they wipe down the instruments.”
Kushmaul plays in the Chautauqua Symphony, which plays during the summer season when the Chautauqua Institution is open. However, like many other musicians, he participates in multiple orchestras. The last concert he played was with the Philadelphia Pops, with the orchestra playing the music of Phil Collins and the band Genesis before the shutdown.
“We’d turn on the news, and see all these cities swarming with COVID, and Chautauqua was this little bubble that was mostly unaffected at the time,” Kushmaul said in regards to the town Being in the orchestra back in March, there’s no way we thought the summer would be shut down. And then things never got better.”
The institute was closed for the summer, and would normally be bustling with visitors during the season. “It was quite bizarre to be here,” Kushmaul explained. “I’ve been here for twenty-six years, and to walk by an empty amphitheater where we play all these concerts was kind of shocking.”
The Chautauqua Institution decided even though no in-person events were held, online programming would continue. The Symphony put together a jazz trio, which was live-streamed online.
Chautauqua would also have virtual concerts from the musician’s homes or from the empty concert hall. Previous concerts would also be rebroadcast. “It’s extremely different,” Kushmaul described. “The audience is very important to us. That’s why we do it. It’s not just the same. I’m glad there’s something. I don’t enjoy watching concerts online. It’s not the same as being there in-person. But if it’s all we have for now, to bridge for when we get back together, then I guess that’s good.”
Kushmaul said music has helped his mental health, along with teaching. “I don’t necessary play music just for us. I think it can help the mental health of the audience. I think it can also help the mental health of the musicians as well.”
Nikki and Joanna Chooi, Violin and Cello, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Nikki and Joanne Chooi (Source: Nikki Chooi, Joanne Chooi)
Nikki Chooi had a lot to look forward to this year as concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. This year celebrates the 250th birthday for Ludwig Van Beethoven, with the orchestra planning a Beethoven festival for May.
“We were trying to rev up towards that” explains Chooi, who became concertmaster in fall of 2019 and premiered as a soloist the week before shutdown. “And playing [with] more sound together as a group. Especially me coming in, getting used to playing with a new set of colleagues and learning from them and trying to communicate as musicians.”
He described the buildup to the lockdown in musical terms and reflecting after the fact; “We were climbing up to a climax, and just before we got there was cut off. Little did I know this thing would still be going on and with not really too much of a light at the end of the tunnel as of yet.”
At the beginning of quarantine, Chooi wanted to keep motivated but the uncertainty made it hard. “When it seemed obvious that this shutdown was going to happen for a much longer time, it was really hard to keep myself motivated. As musicians, we’re always communicating with people. We’re communicating with colleagues, with the audience itself. “
Communication is a central part of Chooi’s musicianship, and everyone was looking for a way to connect with friends and colleagues. Nikki with his wife and accomplished celloist Joanna Chooi created the podcast Coffee Chats.
“Our goal was to just stay connected with fellow musicians. Nikki personally had lots of concerts lined up, all cancelled, and we still wanted to keep in touch with all these people who we were potentially see and interact with,” Joanna explained. “Although we don’t have too much control over the virus, we have control over what we do with our craft and what we do in terms of staying connected.”
They invited on mutual friends and colleagues from the Buffalo Philharmonic and from around the world. This includes Berlin Philharmonic Concertmaster Noah Bendix-Balgley and fellow violinist James Ehnes. Thirty- five interviews have been conducted so far, with many more to be released. Nikki remembered one of the guests described the process as “therapeutic” and an outlet.
Joanna remarked how individual experiences can be insightful to hear. “Sometimes, it’s really great to hear what everyone has to say about what they are going through, as musicians in this pandemic. And it was nice for everyone to have time to speak on video of what they’re doing. It’s been a pleasure to stay connected with everyone.”
All the podcasts are recorded through Zoom, and uploaded to YouTube and on social media platforms Facebook Video and Instagram TV (IGTV). The goal, as Joanna mentioned, was to make sure the conversations were accessible to everyone.
“What we were going for [with] the interviews were to create a sense of inspiration and also relatability,” Nikki explained. “From younger artists to the more established orchestral players. We’re all going through this at the same time.” One of Nikki’s most memorable interviews came from talking to his brother. “He’s family, I know him. We know each other so well, but just to hear him talk about what he’s going through was fun as well.”
Through the interview process, Joanna said they kept music students in mind. Although they did not have the chance to feature any on the podcast, they had plenty of music teachers on and made sure to tailor their questions. “We ask ‘What advice would you have for younger artists, aspiring musicians, or music students?’ We asked that question to a lot of our artists because it’s a great way not only for aspiring students but everyone to hear what these artists have to say in regards to music education.”
“How do you stay motivated during this time, when you’re not in school [and] without private lessons? How do you stay motivated, how do you still go on continuing to make music?” Joanne listed when talking about student-related issues. “Hopefully, students can view this and get from insights from it as well.”
The podcast has been well received by musicians and the general public alike. “I think just having these artists just speaking on such relatable terms,” Nikki said, on why the reception has been positive. “And just getting advice from these artists, whether it’s students, whether it’s teachers, or performers, just to talk about relatable and common issues that we’re facing as a whole.”
Nikki and Joanne Chooi perform an arrangement of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah in May of 2020
As well, both Nikki and Joanne have done virtual performances. The two collaborated on their own cover of ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen, with the video collecting over 150,000 views on Facebook. They also have worked with the Buffalo Philharmonic on virtual projects and with The Violin Channel, a streaming website where Nikki gave a recital in April.
A virtual performance that stood out to Nikki was the Buffalo Philharmonic’s performance of Igor Stravinsky’s ‘The Firebird’ back in May. “All of us had to play individually with a click track, and then the entire orchestra came together while recording each part separately.” Along with the music, the performance showed the history of Buffalo, with historical pictures leading up to the present day.
The Buffalo Philharmonic performs Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird in April of 2020
Nikki has also given virtual masterclasses at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the ‘OAcademy‘ from the Orchestra of the Americas. They have been doing everything the can virtually, but even then, it can be an adjustment. “You’re not there to directly show examples so I had really learned to communicate with words to cover the things I can’t speak about.”
Throughout the virtual performances and masterclasses, Nikki recognizes there’s a different mindset to having a virtual audience instead of a physical one. That energy, he believes, has to come from the musicians, who must listen and play to each other.
From Coffee Chats, to virtual performances and masterclasses, music has helped both Nikki and Joanne’s mental health during this time. “It’s a strange time for everyone, especially artists,” Joanne explained. “With concerts being cancelled and engagements not being there. We came up with Coffee Chats because we wanted an outlet to stay connected with people… We are taking these small and essential measures to ensure that we our still staying connected with people and trying to stay positive throughout this whole pandemic. ”
“Being musicians, we’re always interacting with other people, whether you’re preforming for an orchestra, whether you’re teaching in a classroom, whether you’re performing chamber music, even soloists,” Joanne observed in regards to the social engagement of musicians. “We’re very dependent on social interaction and that is one thing we wanted to continue even virtually”
Continuing that social interaction was what helped Coffee Chats, and them along the way. From Joanne, “Mentally, it’s been extremely helpful for us, because seeing old friends and connecting with fellow musicians; it’s like a sense of unity. We’re all going through this together, but we can still connect and talk about this and make the most out of what’s happening. Mental health is something that’s extremely important, and especially given this unprecedented time. The best thing we can do as artists is to continue making music virtually and keep sharing the craft. Music is such an emotional thing, and just even playing for yourself or someone virtually brings smiles to people’s faces. We do know there is light at the end of the tunnel; people are coming up with creative ways to stay connected and visible during this time through their crafts. And we just hope this all leads to a better outcome, and we’re positive that it will.”
Performing at a Distance: The Erie Philharmonic During COVID-19
The Erie Philharmonic performing an ‘Americana’ concert featuring arrangements of composer Harry T. Burleigh (Credit: Erie-Times News)
Originally Published November 22nd, 2020 for The Future of Our World
The venue of a concert can shape a performance. It’s more than just the space, or the amount of people in the room. It’s the energy of the performance, and the quality of the sound. The musical language is shaped by distance between the performers, and there’s difficulty engaging these emotions behind a mask. All of this makes it difficult for any orchestra to adjust to performing during Covid-19, and a concert space means the least of their challenges.
But for the players in the Erie Philharmonic, they’ve found some familiarity in their space.
Edinboro University’s Cole Auditorium, located near the Dr. William P. Alexander Music Center, is serving as a home for their return to music. Months after COVID-19 shut down live performances across the world for professional orchestras, they are beginning to perform again. Nevertheless, there are still key differences to the world which they are returning.
Dr. William P. Alexander Music Center (Credit: Edinboro University)
“Ironically, I would almost consider it the opposite of a challenge,” explained Steve Weiser, Executive Director of the Erie Philharmonic. “The Warner Theater is designed to be a vaudeville movie-type palace, so the theater of the stage is very wide, and very shallow. It’s basically like a rectangle.”
There was a sound difference as well for Weiser, as he used to play in the orchestra.
“When I used to be in the orchestra, if you’d play in the percussion section where I would play, and you’re trying to play with the trumpet player on the other side of the stage, that’s almost a quarter of a mile away from each other. Which makes it very complicated.”
Edinboro University’s Cole Auditorium is where the orchestra rehearses for their concerts normally during seasons.
Steve Weiser (Credit: Erie-Times News)
“We could set up closer to each other and it was always easier to hear.” Weiser stated simply.
This was a natural choice for where the orchestra could begin televised concerts, aired on local PBS station WQLN and streamed to the organization’s Facebook and YouTube channels. They always had a good relationship with WQLN, and that made it easy to figure out where to air these concerts.
“We just had a very good relationship with them, at least for the past ten to twenty years, where we advertise with them, and they give us support along with advertising,” Weiser said. “Tom New, their president and CEO is on our board of governors, so there’s a lot of mutual connections there.”
Weiser said there were logistics that needed to be worked out, including how it would be filmed and how they would pay for it.
“We had to figure out how much it was going to cost to actually record and edit these TV programs. The concerts that have debuted starting at the beginning of October and continuing through April…are recorded using four to five high-def cameras. Those cameras needed to have a few different operators, and that footage is taken back to the studio and edited and synced up with the audio that is recorded separately.”
WQLN presents the Erie Philharmonic with a final product that airs on television and online. Only string players are playing in the first three concerts.
“There’s no good way to have wind players inside playing without having a ton of plexiglass dividers onstage and making it look really cluttered,” Weiser said.
Upcoming holiday concerts will have limited percussion and a prerecorded brass ensemble. As well, starting in December, they will have solo wind players.
Erie Philharmonic 2020 Holiday Special Promo
“Because they were outside, they could spread out far enough, nobody had to wear a mask. We decorated the trees behind them to look like Christmas, and they played Christmas music. We had a drone involved. It’s really going to be cool footage.”
The effort to do these televised concerts involves a large amount of communication.
“We have to be open and transparent with our players. We all have close communications with the musicians.” Weiser explained.
For the musicians, the challenges lie on many different levels.
Sandro Leal-Santiesteban (Credit: Pittsburgh Concert Society)
“We basically receive music far ahead of time, and we don’t receive it physically,” explained Sandro Leal- Santiesteban, Associate Principal Chair for the Erie Philharmonic. “But what they did was send us the music electronically. And so we practiced our music at home with the parts we were provided electronically.”
Emily Cornelius (Credit: Cleveland Classical)
Emily Cornelius is the guest concertmaster for the Erie Philharmonic.
“It was really difficult to rehearse over Zoom or FaceTime, because it’s impossible to play together,” she said. “We didn’t do any digital rehearsal. There were a lot of emails that went back and forth about bowings and phrasing and tempos, especially for the smaller chamber orchestras. We didn’t have a whole lot of rehearsal time due to the safety precautions; they tried to limit the time we spent indoors together.”
Cornelius spent many hours practicing, including how to play with a mask.
“If you haven’t tried it, it’s kind of surprising how difficult it feels when you have a mask on your face when you play the violin. It’s a lot of adjustment that you have to get used to.” She would send bowings to people in advance because of the limited rehearsal time, but allowed time for discussion in the smaller ensembles.
Santiesteban explained the procedure for how recordings would go. “Once we would arrive [at Cole Auditorium], the hard copies are sitting on our stand. So that way we could make annotations right before the recording…we were all required to wear a mask during the rehearsals and during the recordings at all times on-campus.”
There are challenges to wearing a mask while playing, according to Cornelius, including how it changes the body language. “It changes your peripheral vision, and then when you play with other people, it’s all social interaction. There are so many silent cues that go on and so much information we share through facial expressions. For the most part, we still have our eyes visible, but that too gets blocked sometimes. There’s still a lot you can do with your physical body to express what you’re trying to communicate to the others, but it’s not as immediate.”
Musicians were placed with proper social distancing guidelines, according to Santiesteban. “It was a bit challenging for us since chamber music is an unique experience in that we all have to be [closer] together. In this case, because we are in such a unique situation, we had to be far apart from each other just to keep ourselves safe.”
“Being six feet apart from everybody was startling. At the most ,we would have twenty people on stage…every person had their own music stand and every person had their own microphone,” Cornelius said. “In a way, we were each soloists and [we were] trusting the excellent sound engineers to make a good blend after the fact. It was a strange combination of being an orchestra musician, chamber musician, and soloist all at the same time all in the same piece. “
Daniel Meyers (Credit: Erie Philharmonic)
Both Cornelius and Santiesteban credit music director Daniel Meyers as someone who helped them keep time despite the distance. “Having Daniel there definitely helped us to access how far ahead we needed to play,” explained Santiesteban. “It’s just the little details like the distance that we need to keep in mind.”
Santiesteban recorded before, but there are different challenges from performing with a live audience, explaining that its different than what the Erie Philharmonic is used to doing.
“I feel that recording in general it a different experience than playing with a live audience,” he said. “I feel that I use different muscles when I perform in front of an audience than when I perform [for a] recording. It’s a different pressure when you’re recording because you want the best product. When you have an audience, you also want a good product. But the performance is unique because you have that one chance to try to play [at] a really high quality, as with a recording…you have someone recording and you have the luxury to rerecord if you’re not satisfied with your take.”
Cornelius added one of the largest factors was the delay and echo, different for every piece. “The acoustics in that hall (Cole Auditorium) are lovely, so it was really a nice and resonant experience to play there.”
The Erie Philharmonic performs in September 2020
For her, where the sound was being projected in Cole Auditorium helped the performance. “Normally, when we play a concert, we turn out. We want to project our sound out to the audience, and it took a good few minutes to get used to turning towards each other. In a way, even though we were playing so much further apart, it was possible to play much more intimately because we didn’t have to worry about projecting and making the biggest sound. We could be a little more sensitive and inward.”
This pandemic, says Cornelius, has shown to be unprecedented, with musical organizations around the world having to adjust. “We’ve never encountered anything like this, that prevents every organization large and small from doing what it does, and having to do this enormous pivot and find ways to stay afloat and stay relevant. For most of us musicians, it’s not just the job; it’s our whole identity, it’s our whole world, it’s an extension of our personality. So it’s quite a blown to have that taken away.”
“When you’re performing onstage and you have an audience that is really engaged, you feel it and that changes the way you perform,” Cornelius explained. “And that kind of chemistry is simply not possible when you prerecord something and then share it on a screen. That part of it is really irreplaceable for me.”
However, she also sees the other side of the argument.
“Even if you, the performer, don’t see the reaction, that doesn’t mean you’re not reaching countless people and making their lives a little bit better. In that way, it’s really beautiful to share music this way.”
Throughout this entire experience, Santiesteban expressed there is one challenge many musicians are going through as these virtual concerts become commonplace: keeping positive. “It’s the aspect of being positive about it is the most challenging part it is quite easy to give up on that. For me, practicing, playing, and doing violin lessons. I think it’s what kept me going, probably playing and performing, and uploading videos to YouTube or Instagram. And keeping in touch with my fellow colleagues I think has also been a factor to keep doing what we love despite the virus.”
“I’m really encouraged by how the Erie Phil has tapped into the needs of its community,” Cornelius expressed. “What people really want to see and hear. They’ve done that through their programming and also through sharing these on the local PBS channel, which I think is fabulous. As well as online where anybody can watch.”
Closing of the Curtain: Challenges Faced by Orchestras During Covid-19
Photo by Radek Grzybowski on Unsplash
Originally published October 26th, 2020 for The Future of Our World.
There are certain visual cues that are signature components of an orchestral concert. The movement of the conductor’s hands as the baton twirls through the air. The frantic bowing of the first chair violinist as they perform a dazzling solo. The stirring of strings, woodwinds, and brass over the crash of percussion. But it is the venue and stage which can awe people before a single note is performed. Often times, there is a large curtain, with lights surrounding the stage, some even stretching into the hall itself. It’s an experience like no other; it is nearly impossible to replicate. But in 2020, the curtain came crashing down, and the lights extinguished as fast and quick as a grace note.
COVID-19 has changed everything, but has impacted the performing arts greatly. According to Americans for the Arts, $13.9 billion dollars have been lost by non-profit arts and cultural organizations as of October 5th. The same survey states 95% of organizations have recorded lost income, with about 833,000 reports of unemployment.
Steve Weiser (Credit: Erie-Times News)
“For us, we had to cancel concerts, starting pretty much all the way back to the end of last March,” explained Steve Weiser, Executive Director of the Erie Philharmonic. The last concert given by the orchestra was on March 7th. “We didn’t know when we gave that concert on March 7th, that was the final concert we would ever do on stage on Warner Theater before renovations.”
The Warner Theater in Erie recently closed for renovations. According to the Erie-Times News, the theater is hoping to reopen in September 2021. Weiser describes the state of the theater. “The stage is gone, the back of the building is destroyed, and they’re building a whole new stage. But we never got to do the big send-off for the theater because we shut down very unexpectedly.”
Due to the pandemic, the Erie Philharmonic had to cancel the end of last season, along with summer concerts and the subscription season for this year. “We essentially had to cancel a very big and exciting season that we were going to give in the hockey arena. It’s been a very interesting adventure to get where we are today,” said Weiser.
The ongoing COVID-19 impact survey from Americans for the Arts states four main concerns about reopening: “customers unlikely to attend, government restrictions/guidelines, staff/board do not feel it is safe yet, and impractical to produce art product in current environment.”
The larger problem for the Erie Philharmonic, along with many other orchestras, is the financial impact this can have for the individual organizations. “If you’re looking at just this season alone, you’re probably looking at lost ticketed revenue of about $850,00,” Weiser explained. “We’re hoping to make some of it up with donations, but normally that’s where we would normally see ticketed revenue for this year.”
Most of the Erie Philharmonic’s revenue relies on a mix between ticket sales and community support. These could be grants, government funding or donations from the community. The CARES Act also plays a major role in allocating funding for the arts, with organizations preserving over one million jobs due to the donations. “We just received around $63,000 dollars from one of the museums and cultural grants…and we did receive some PPP (Public Private Partnership) [funding] for staff and musician salaries as well.” Weiser stated.
“It’s pretty devastating for musicians, all across the country, if not the entire world,” Dr. Allen Zurcher said. He is the Secretary/Treasurer for the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local Union 17, which covers Erie. “The social interaction between the performers and the audience is what drives the entire relationship for live music. When that disappeared, most musicians probably lost about 95% of their income, if not more in some cases.”
The Bookings Institute estimates 97,130 creative industry jobs have been lost in Pennsylvania alone. Many of the major losses are centered around metropolitan areas such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Zurcher elaborated on how income can be the last aspect to change for union musicians. “The pay rate doesn’t change, but the number of services was curtailed greatly. So, in that respect, it did affect the pay. Not only the pay of the philharmonic musicians, but all musicians, whether they’re union musicians or not.”
Local Union 17 of the AFM received information from their national office, which Zurcher credits as the most helpful thing they could have received. As well, they have received guidance from other chapters of their union. “We talk to each other all the time, specifically in communities of similar sizes and chapters of similar sizes, because we all have the same problems. So we’re always looking for solutions.”
The Erie Philharmonic is in a middle of a five-year collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). However, the pandemic has made them address the current situation. The administration of the Erie Philharmonic met with the orchestral committee, and the local and national offices of the AFM. “We met with them to come up with an amendment to our CBA to help us get through the COVID situation,” Weiser explained further.
The amendment focused on safety protocols, which were negotiated over the summer and was essential for the union to begin televised concerts. “We then started reaching out to other orchestras across the country, we looked at Edinboro’s safety plan and Chautauqua up in New York. We really tried to get a myriad of examples of what other people were trying to do,” Weiser added. “At that point, some people were starting to come back together. So, we knew somebody would have something that worked.”
The plan is nine pages long, and has research from fifteen to twenty sources, according to Weiser. One of the ideas which came from Chautauqua was musicians will need to self-monitor their health before arriving in Erie, and will send an email or text message. As well, many of the musicians are coming from out of state, and this was something which needed to be addressed.
“A third coming from [Cleveland], a third from around here, and a third from Pittsburgh. So, we have some that are coming come Fredonia…but we definitely would hit three different states between PA, Ohio, and New York.” Weiser listed these places when talking about where the musicians are coming in, including from Florida and Minnesota. “We had built into our safety plan if you’re traveling from one of these twenty states, you have to get here two weeks ahead of time. You can’t come up from Florida and play with us right away. You’d have to quarantine for two weeks and then play with us.”
Erie Bayfront Sheraton Hotel (Credit: Marriott)
The Erie Philharmonic has a partnership with the Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel. The business sponsors the orchestra by supplying rooms to traveling musicians. “They give us between eighty to one hundred rooms that we’re able to use for our musicians. Once the musicians stay at the hotel, they’re under the hotel’s safety plan and guidance,” Weiser explained. “We can’t control what happens at the hotel, but it’s a mutual understanding [that] the hotel will be at an equally as high of a standard.”
These are different times for the Erie Philharmonic, as shown by the guidelines from the state for gatherings. “Normally, we’d be gathering sixty to seventy people. Our opening night concert would have been September 12th…and we normally would see anywhere from sixty to seventy, sometimes eighty musicians onstage. And right now, the indoor cap is at 25,” Weiser said.
Along with donations, resources from nonprofits, such as Americans for the Arts (AFTA), have helped the Erie Philharmonic. “We received resources at the very least in talking points and things for us to be able to use in grants and other funding applications,” Weiser explained.
The AFTA has helped the organization behind the scenes. “If I were to apply for a grant, and showcase how much funding is lost because the arts are shut down, or understanding that the arts are likely going to be the last group to fully reopen.” Weiser said.
This delay in opening rejects the very ideal of performing arts, as Weiser puts it; “Our main idea is performing huge experiences in these big concerts, and until we can safely gather 2,000 people indoors, our industry will be disrupted.”
Weiser believes every orchestra is facing the same problem, and location can make a difference. “What we’re finding is that some cities, especially the way Erie is set up, we all have to adapt to the problem differently… a lot of it has to do with how close orchestras are to the city that we exist in. There’s not another orchestra for another hour and a half away that’s doing things on ticketed, big scale events. We’re unique that we’re the main orchestra in Northwestern Pennsylvania.”
Even though location changes circumstances, Weiser says that community support can help performing arts organizations during this time. “For us, the community support we have seen so far has been phenomenal…we’ve seen a lot of new doners. A lot of people that have really stepped up to help the Erie [Philharmonic] get through this time period. Without the community, support of our board, doners, and businesses, this can be a very different conversation.”