JAMES STRECKER: In what specific ways has COVID-19 changed your creative/ artistic life in the arts?
MARIE PEEBLES: Because of the shelter in place ordinance, I can no longer teach my 35 students in my home. I have had to learn some new technology in order to move “on line” to support my students as best I can. In addition, any coaching of local community orchestras has been cancelled. Although I am retired from professional ensembles, I feel the loss of any opportunity to perform live.
JS: How creative are you feeling with COVID-19 on your mind?
MP: I have surrendered to the knowledge that I can only control how I react to the serious, trying times we are all experiencing. Obviously, it gives me time to think about the role music plays in our lives. I am learning how best to teach the “whole “person using music as a tool to soothe, divert, and encourage.
JS: In what specific ways has COVID-19 changed your personal life?
MP: As a musician having spent many solitary hours in a practice room, isolation does not feel terribly different. I have more time to learn new repertoire, practice, read, check in with colleagues, students, family, and friends. It also reminds me of the importance of the little things: the flowers left on my porch by a student, the laugh of a friend who was sad at the beginning of our conversation on the phone, the sidewalk chalk message left in front of my house….
JS: What are your primary worries, at this time, about the present situation in the arts because of COVID-19?
MP: I am lucky as I am in the twilight of my career. I worry about the younger musicians just starting their careers. The lights are out on their stages, jobs have all disappeared, auditions cancelled. They are finding creative ways to perform and play together, but it is being done for free. It may feed their souls but it does not help them with instrument loans, food, rent, child care etc. The uncertainty and worry about whether there will be any live performing jobs in the near future, or ever, is overwhelming.
JS: What are your primary worries about the future situation in the arts because of COVID-19?
MP: The arts are always the last to recover from any disruption. Although during this difficult time, people are soothed by music, transported by the work of wonderful writers, delighted by beautiful art, or dance, I think the contribution the arts has made to keeping our lives livable will be forgotten. The arts will be seen again as a frill, as elitist, as dispensable.
JS: What are you yourself doing to get through this time of crisis?
MP: I am just staying home, finding new projects, teaching a few lessons every day, gardening a bit. I am trying to learn to “do “less and “be” more.
JS: What are other creative/artistic people you know doing to get through this time of crisis?
MP: Some are overwhelmed, but the majority of my musician friends are finding ways to perform by themselves or with colleagues on line. It is the best they can do while we all stay sheltered in place. Most are continuing to practice, learn new repertoire, teach a bit, and hope for a return to the concert stage. My son, who is a jazz musician in California and lives in a house with other musicians, played a concert from his driveway for the neighbourhood. Some of my own students played their band instruments from schools outside Nursing Homes as the residents watched from their windows. People are getting creative in their attempts to communicate.
JS: What are the saddest stories you’ve heard about creative/artistic people during this time of COVID-19?
MP: How many musicians have died from Covid-19, old and young, is very sad to me. We will not hear their voices again except on recordings. So many careers cut short but more importantly so many lives lost.
JS: What are the most encouraging or inspiring stories you’ve heard about creative/artistic people during this time of COVID-19?
MP: I think their unending desire to keep performing for people. Jeff Beecher, the principal bass of the Toronto Symphony, brought together his fellow musician to put together a heart melting video of Copland’s Appalachian Spring. He chose the section of the piece that uses the old hymn “It’s a Gift to be Simple, It’s a Gift to be Free”. He was unable to get the music, so he sat down with a recording and wrote out all the parts for his colleagues. It is awe inspiring just from a musical point of view, but knowing the back story is sincerely uplifting.
JS: How can we support people in the arts during this difficult time?
MP: Check in with them, see if they need anything, tell them you can’t wait to hear them again when these trying times are over. Buy their recordings if they are recording artists. Encourage them to keep playing. Tell them how much you value what they do.
JS: Finally, what specifically can we do to support your life and work in the arts?
MP: I am blessed beyond words to have a rich teaching life. I am in contact with all my students, colleagues, many old musician friends. We laugh and cry together. I have always tried to live simply and it serves me well in these times.