It’s been a tough stretch, for sure. Reality is setting in, and for myself and my orchestra colleagues it’s been death by a hundred slow-motion body blows, with every day bringing more news of concert and festival cancellations, and uncertainty about our future as professional musicians.

Of course, we understand that our challenges are relative in the tsunami of awfulness that we’ll be hearing more and more of in the days ahead. And while the messages of support from patrons and friends have been wonderful and life-affirming, I can’t help but think about a phrase that’s been mentioned a lot lately: non-essential…

It’s a brutal reality of this time that questions of what is and isn’t “essential” will be asked. In terms of the performing arts, this is something we deal with constantly. Arts programs are always the first things to go during budget crises in our schools, and it can be very easy to view an orchestra or chamber music performance as a luxury. The challenge to our perceived essential value is only heightened in this pandemic, when winners and losers are being sorted out in congressional slugfests over bailouts. Everyone is in pain, and everyone is in need.

I’ve always thought of concerts as akin to church services, both using music as the medium for fellowship that seeks spiritual connection. In times of crisis and tragedy, churches and religious organizations are never considered non-essential. Quite the opposite! Is it really any different for the performing arts? We too are in the business of serving the essential spiritual needs of our community, a business that will absolutely require the support of our friends and patrons to see us through these dark days.

A good friend recently reminded me that the arts has survived plagues, epidemics, and wars… it will survive this pandemic too. To paraphrase Jeff Goldblum’s character in Jurassic Park, “Art always finds a way.”

For 45^th Parallel Universe, we will find our way through this as well. We are busy planning for the post-quarantine period, eager to resume making music together and sharing it with our beloved community. We don’t want to lose this opportunity to understand and re-examine our role in this new arts reality. It’s at moments like this that we realize how blessed we are to be artists, more keenly felt in the present circumstance of not being allowed to work.

Stay healthy everyone!

Ron Blessinger
Executive Director, 45^th Parallel Universe