Orchestras posting performance videos to social media is hardly novel. But on March 27 the Toronto Symphony Orchestra released a clip of Copland’s “Appalachian Spring,” the “Simple Gifts” excerpt, that garnered tens of thousands of views in the first day alone on Facebook and Instagram. What was special about this clip? None of the Toronto Symphony musicians were playing in the same room as one another—government mandates to limit the spread of COVID-19 meant that they weren’t allowed to perform together. Individual players recorded their parts from their homes, which the symphony then pasted into a collage that circulated amidst announcements of business closures and a shelter-in-place order in the city of Toronto.
This isolation has become the new normal for cities and orchestras around the world. Immediately after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, cultural institutions began announcing cancellations and postponements, determined to help halt the spread of the novel coronavirus. At the time of this writing, the situation is evolving daily, with some state and local government entities banning groups of 250 or more, then 100, then 50, and then 10. In some areas, authorities have instructed non-essential businesses to shutter indefinitely and residents to shelter at home. Conservatories and colleges have moved all classes and teaching to virtual formats. Live concerts are off the menu through May, potentially longer. Orchestras’ loss of revenue is already staggering.
Still, orchestras and musicians are responding with resilience and creativity in the midst of an unprecedented global shut-down. Ensembles and performing arts companies swiftly began working to find alternative ways to provide music to the public, live-streaming orchestra and chamber music concerts from eerily empty halls in Buffalo and Philadelphia and Jacksonville and cracking open archives to offer recordings of concerts past. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma posted videos of himself performing short “Songs of Comfort” and has been encouraging musicians of all levels to do the same. Taking inspiration from viral videos of Italians serenading each other from balconies at home, singers in the U.S. have organized remote group singing to foster community, both online and from windows. Orchestral musicians are recording music and musings from their residences and conductors are leading virtual explorations of repertoire for listeners who must remain at home.
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, long a forward-thinking ensemble in terms of its dedication to accessibility, especially via internet streaming, is waiving the traditional fee to view archived performances and expanding those offerings to stream concerts designed for schoolchildren. The Boston Symphony Orchestra is streaming samples from its archive and distributing short performance and interview videos self-produced by musicians through its social media channels and website. The Plano Symphony Orchestra in Texas is streaming concerts on Saturday evenings. The Metropolitan Opera in New York City is posting an HD broadcast to its website each day for free; the Met normally broadcasts these live HD performances in movie theaters around the country for about $25 a ticket. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is posting curated videos of musicians to its social channels in the coming weeks, the first of which features PSO violinist Christopher Wu recounting how he brought his violin to the delivery room for the birth of his daughter.
“These videos by musicians are some of the hidden gems in all of this mess,” says Jesse Rosen, president and CEO of the League of American Orchestras. “There’s an incredible intimacy to this sort of content, and what a gift to be able to experience musicians as chamber and solo players from their homes. Maybe this is one of those things we shouldn’t have needed a pandemic to make happen.”
Immediately after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared COVID-19 a pandemic, cultural institutions worldwide began announcing cancellations and postponements to help halt the spread of the virus.
New Approaches to Streaming
Orchestras aren’t new to the streaming world, but it took some brisk negotiation to allow for more widespread streaming, as the American Federation of Musicians’ current agreement with the Electronic Media Association (EMA) runs to 2022. On March 8, the AFM and EMA took action, negotiating a side letter in just four days to expand streaming rights in light of the pandemic. “Conditions changed hour by hour during that period,” recalls Rochelle Skolnick, special council at the AFM and director of the organization’s Symphonic Services Division. “The first thing we did was lift the caps on an employer’s ability to stream a full concert, but it became clear over that period that we had to be much more expansive.” The union negotiated additional side letters to allow organizations to stream other projects and types of content with similar expeditiousness. The union is also working to weave a safety net for its members, who will face significant financial strain during the pandemic.
Orchestras and musicians are responding with resilience and creativity in the midst of an unprecedented global shut-down.
Musicians who have built a living playing for multiple small per-service orchestras are taking a particularly severe financial hit from the cancellations. The Oregon Symphony has furloughed musicians and staff alike, while the Metropolitan Opera has furloughed all union members, which includes its orchestra, and much of the staff. Many local branches of the union have relief funds available in certain circumstances, and some are running fundraising efforts specifically for freelance symphonic services. “It’s an economic crisis for everybody, not just for us,” says Meredith Snow, chairperson of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (Snow is also a longtime violinist at the Los Angeles Philharmonic). “A majority of ensembles so far have been working to cover a portion of their performers’ salaries.”
Some but not all contracts have force majeure clauses built in, a provision that releases contractual parties from obligations and liabilities due to unforeseen catastrophes or disasters. A global pandemic certainly applies, though many orchestras are working to cover at least partial salaries for musicians. The New York Philharmonic, for example, announced that it was cancelling the remainder of its season and anticipating a $10 million dollar loss in revenue. The orchestra paid musicians their full salaries in March before reducing to base bay in April and then 75 percent of base in May. Musicians and management will meet to determine compensation for the summer months as the pandemic progresses. Some orchestras, among them the Kansas City Symphony, will continue to pay musicians through the end of the season despite cancelled concerts.
Financial Impact
In terms of financial risk to institutions arising from the loss of box-office and other income due to the pandemic, League President and CEO Rosen says orchestras of all sizes are impacted, but in different ways. Medium-sized organizations are particularly vulnerable with their high fixed costs but more fragile income streams both philanthropically and from ticket sales than orchestras in larger communities. Large-budget orchestras can have very large payrolls and high sensitivity to stock market volatility, impacting endowments and pension funds. And while smaller-budget orchestras have the most flexibility, they often have the thinnest margins. “Cash is still king,” Rosen says. “There’s a reliance on that cash for real day-to-day needs.” To that end, many orchestras have initiated emergency fundraisers, targeting individuals and donors close to the organizations. “This is totally appropriate—no one should hold back,” Rosen says. “There’s a category of funders who are deeply aligned with the organization and have a personal stake in helping. Many of these funders, both individual and institutional, are stepping up.”
The loss of income from the box office and other sources due to the pandemic is presenting significant financial challenges to orchestras.
At this moment, each day brings news of streaming offerings and emergency funds, of current cancellations and announcements for the coming season. The speed with which contracts have been updated and the creativity demonstrated by individual musicians and organizations shows a promising streak of adaptation. This is a good thing. But to assume that the concert landscape won’t be deeply impacted would be overly optimistic.
“It may take a while for people to feel comfortable coming back to concerts,” says Rosen. “They may love their orchestras and love music and want to keep donating and supporting but they may not feel comfortable going out. But I think we’d like to believe that the appetite and desire for live performances by orchestras for large groups of people won’t be shaken.”
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2020 issue of Symphony magazine.
