In a recent rehearsal, a true titan of the music world remarked that, even during the two world wars in the 20th century, somewhere on our planet, music and theatre was being performed in front of an audience – for example, the premiere of Shostakovich's 7th Symphony in the centre of besieged Leningrad, or the hundreds of concerts that great artists such as Heifetz and Menuhin gave for the Allied troops, or even the extraordinary premiere of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time in the Gorlitz Prisoner of War camp in Poland. It has been interesting to observe how different countries try to keep culture alive while protecting the population. What we have been asked to endure is nothing compared to the sacrifice that millions of people made in the last century. We are, in essence, protecting human life by keeping away from it. Of course, that doesn't mean it has been easy.
It's too early to tell what the full implications might be further down the line for our college students. The main change that we have already seen has, of course, been the almost normalisation of the online lesson, something that might have happened under exceptional circumstances in the past but is a completely new way of working for many people – me included. Both students and teachers have had to adapt to this ‘new normal’ and make the best of it. No matter the quality of the online connection and the audio equipment on both ends of the line, one cannot hear the sound in the same way you would hear it in a classroom or a concert hall, and dynamic contrasts are really hard to gauge accurately. Sometimes, no amount of verbal instruction can solve a problem that could be fixed with a five-second physical demonstration.
Many of the top music universities have long welcomed and relied upon international students. Without the influx of students from around the world, colleges and conservatories would cease to exist in the way that they do now. With so much of the curriculum now taught online, and with the constant inconvenience of travel bans and self quarantine, students may think long and hard about whether they really want to make such a major financial commitment to study thousands of miles away from home.
This is not only a question for the students; there are many teachers – myself included at the time of writing – who are active performers and teach in more than one institution. If the pandemic shows no sign of easing, will we continue to travel around the world, playing concerts and teaching?
To leave things on an optimistic note; we are fortunate that the music world is full of wonderfully creative, flexible, determined and talented people that believe in the power and necessity of music and will find a way to keep culture alive in our society. We have already seen the adjustments that many organisers have made to keep their seasons going and connect with their audiences. We will need all of their ingenuity and optimism to get through this so that music making continues to thrive around the world.
