Well, I never anticipated that I would be in a situation like this. Due to COVID-19, all of my spring concerts were canceled for live audience, and only one went on anyway online. I was not in control of the cancellations for any of the concerts. If I was, I might have seen if there was a way for the show to go on through streaming only with no live audience. The concert I was most discouraged about being canceled was of course my own master's recital. I will be graduating anyway, so there is no concern about that, but I had been preparing some of the repertoire in it for more than a year. I thought about streaming it anyway from my own home, but what I was most excited about was getting to perform it in the actual recital space on a top quality Steinway D piano and getting to invite all of my friends and supporters to hear it live.
I found out back in mid-March that everything would be canceled. I spent a week or so in a pretty huge funk about it, trying to practice but not being sure what I was practicing for. I started both teaching and taking all my private lessons over Zoom and all of my classes at Mannes shifted online. With no more commuting, I suddenly had a ton of extra time in the day.
Eventually, I had to decide how I wanted to spend my time. I had to decide that even though my soonest concerts were canceled, perhaps my farther away ones wouldn't be. I have started practicing repertoire for competitions that have applications due in the fall and for my next Whimsical Birdsong concert in December. I don't know exactly what my career is going to look like for the next couple years, but I am hopeful that I can continue with these projects somehow. By the way, if you want to support me in this difficult time, buy my CD! Message me with the contact form if you want one!