I am fortunate to be sheltering in place here in beautiful Schaumburg with three other string players - my wife and two of my three sons. Playing duets, trios and quartets has proven to be a great way to lift our spirits and pass the time. Learning piano accompaniment parts (which takes me a lot of time) has been a rewarding project. I also have been teaching my students online.
It has been over 90 days since Lyric was shut down and our much anticipated Ring Cycles cancelled. For so many years we had waited to perform this epic music drama, but my disappointment is tempered by the hope that in the future, musicians can play an important role in the reopening and recovery. The wait has begun for the resumption of of live opera!
As Tony sings in Act 1 of West Side Story:
“Could it be? Yes it could.
Something’s coming, something good”
Performances in the future will be even more magical and transformative, having been taken from us. I will always remember the first opera performance after the 9/11 attacks. It seemed like the roof was being raised when the entire opera house joined in singing the national anthem. Here was a spine-tingling moment of collective emotional release that I sense is going to take place again when concerts return. When I hear live music in the future, layered into the glorious music will be the comforting message that for the moment we are all getting along just fine, and that’s worth waiting for.
