Impact on Communities and Social Connections
Despite what some may believe, being a musician can be a lonely profession, especially for classical musicians. Despite often being an ensemble-driven profession, musicians often spend many hours a day practising by themselves. This, however, is not the case with many orchestras. Aside from the regular employment that orchestral positions offer, many instrumentalists are drawn the ensemble for the social atmosphere. Like many other things, the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the social workings of orchestras — to put it mildly.
During the pandemic, it was rare for an orchestra to be able to get together to perform. It wasn’t until Fall 2020 that the NAC Orchestra had their first in-person concert since the onset of Covid, and they only did a few performances, before the pandemic’s second wave that occurred around December 2020. For orchestral veterans like Chris Lee, Principal Tubist of the NAC Orchestra, this was, by far, the longest orchestra disruption he’d experienced: “from March until October is the longest stretch of my career since, I don't know, probably my undergrad. That’s how far back I'd have to go to, the 90s, where I had a stretch that long that I hadn't done an orchestra concert,” he told me.
And in further detail, Lee discusses (in the video below) that the pandemic’s unexpected consequences — such as the lack of applause at the end of a performance, due to the empty concert hall — resulted in what he described as an energy loss, because of the absent audience members.
What makes orchestral roles special is the collaborative nature of the work. Many jobs require teamwork, to be sure, but few rival the individual responsibilities required for group cohesion than an orchestra role. Just imagine if a concertmaster forgot to show up to a concert – or even the conductor, for that matter. The absence of these leaders would be akin to trying to fly a commercial airplane without a pilot. This reliance on others in an orchestra is part of what creates unique work relationships amongst colleagues.
Elaine Klimasko, Violinist with the NAC Orchestra, shared this with me in our conversation: “I'm not making light of any, any profession—I'm just saying that, you know, when you have a stand partner and you make music together, I mean, it's a kind of bonding that is unlike any other. You work as a team and you know, you work with your section, with your concert master, with the conductor, and it's just, the fit has to be right. You have to compromise, you have to decide, you know, you're going to put your fingers on the top or on the bottom—you have to get along. It’s a very close partnership and it's all about teamwork.”
Klimasko, who has played with the NAC Orchestra since its founding in the late 1960’s, describes (in the video below) how important the relationships she has with her colleagues, are to her.
Fortunately, as has been the case throughout the pandemic, musicians got creative. Outdoor concerts, especially earlier in the pandemic, became the only way to play music together for a live audience. Speaking with Karen Donnelly, Principal Trumpet of the NAC Orchestra in Fall 2020, she told me: “So, I've done, I don't know, 20 [outdoors]. We did—we were really active doing concerts in our neighborhood.” Donnelly even told me about a brass quintet she was a part of that played while on a boat floating down the Rideau Canal – an activity that continued throughout the 2021 Summer season.
In addition, the NAC Orchestra put on spectacular livestreamed concerts during the pandemic. Sadly, no matter how high the quality, as an audience member, virtual concerts do not offer the same experience as an in-person show. The same is true for the performers, as Chris Lee told me: “We've gotten used to it. We're really giving the energy, but, you know, normally you do get a lot of energy from having 2000 people there in the concert hall.”
Live audiences make a significant difference to orchestral performances. Reflecting on her return to playing for an audience, outdoors in summer 2020, Karen Donnelly told me: “there's a relationship between the artists and on the public. And if you feel they're connected, and you're there, you're risking everything, and they're there listening, and you want to do well for them, and they want to enjoy it. It's really a—you know, at the end and when there's that applause, it's like really powerful, you know.”
Later in Donnelly's video interview (which can be seen below), she speaks about how, not only that it was a relief to play before an audience — but how important live music and art is for everyone's emotional nourishment.
My conversations with the NAC Orchestra members took place in Fall 2020, and since then things have improved in Canada. While these stories relate the hardships of losing social connections during the pandemic, they also highlight the importance of community for orchestral musicians. To summarize the impact of the pandemic on social connections in the NAC Orchestra, I think of what Klimasko, a founding NAC Orchestra member, told me: “you can imagine the friendships I have with colleagues in the orchestra from having been there for so long. And there are a few who've been there a long time like myself. And you know, we’re a very closely knit orchestra and wonderful friendships are there, and we don’t have any of that. None. You just go home back to your little, your little spot and you isolate. It's hard.”