On March 13, when our worst fears were realized, it became apparent that we would not be able to proceed with planned concerts for the remainder of the 2019/2020 season. Many organizations found themselves scrambling to find ways to switch their planned concerts over to virtual, though many (most) were forced to cancel or postpone. In acts of heroism, a long list organizations paid their musicians anyway- either partially or in full. It has become clear that we will not be “back to business as usual” for the coming season, forcing larger companies to re-imagine their concert seasons, to include a mix of pre-recorded and live-streamed events, and for artists to re-invent their performances via virtual mediums.
Performing artists are accustomed to creating an aural and visual world in space and time, and with an audience that arguably becomes a part of the performance. On the stage, we can sense our audience and we feel an energy in communication and empathy through performance that does not happen in any other way. I am sure that our audiences know this. They come to “feel” the music, and vicariously live through the performance in that moment in time, to be transported and transformed.
It is a scientific fact that choral singing (okay, okay- and getting together for sporting events and cheering for the same team) is a shared experience that puts people “on the same wavelength.” Singing (or cheering/ emoting) together in a group releases endorphins and our mirror neurons begin to act together. Brains literally become ‘synced’ - firing neurons at the same time, and people’s brain patterns line up.
Imagine spending intensive time periods with colleagues and friends, learning note patterns and dynamics, unified by a single director who is inspiring them all together to simultaneously convey the meaning of a text, phrase the music, finally adding an orchestra who has also been carefully aligned artistically/ emotionally to play that music in the same way. Speaking as a musician, the experience of that alignment is transformative; it is pure emotion combined with discipline, I would even say it touches the height of the human experience. That transformative communal experience cannot happen any other way, and most musicians are grieving that loss right now.
But, we are also doing what we do: re-imagining our art in ways that are unexpected, joyful and designed to keep us connected.
Call us back to our art. We are ready.