NEMRF on WAMC
The New England Musicians Relief Fund is raising money to distribute $200,000 in grants by the end of the year to musicians struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic.
With venues shuttered and live performing engagements few and far between, it’s been a grueling year for Berkshire County musicians. And that’s even before winter and a likely spike in new COVID cases.
“A lot of musicians here in the area, not only do we do our live performances with our bands, but we also a lot of us are teachers," said Wanda Houston. "And we are also choir directors and involved in churches. I am a choir church choir director as well. And I teach privately and with a couple of schools in the area. And everything that I do, from all the gatherings, from churches, to schools, to bars and restaurants and theaters, have been canceled. Everything has just stopped March of this year.”
Houston is a working musician living in Sheffield.
“It was shocking in a way at first, and then slowly but surely people are started finding ways to do what we do, either through livestream or online," she told WAMC. "But the impact financially has been devastating. And that's been the most difficult part of all of this, because we can't teach anymore. There's my church, my choir job, that is gone. We can't teach anymore and all of these gatherings it's- Just, we can't do it. So it's been devastating financially, but also just emotionally because what we can't do. And we're not with all of you know, all of the people that we work with our band members and friends, we can't we can't interact with all of them like we had. So it's been very difficult.”
With the coming winter, the situation only grows grimmer.
“During the summer, there were some outdoor events, and they were hiring bands to do outdoor events," said Houston. "But then as it gets cold, we're shut in again. And I, you know, two months. I haven't worked in two months now. And there's nothing coming in. It's frightening, actually.”
The New England Musicians Relief Fund hopes to support artists like Houston through the season.
“We're living in a time where music is the thing that we really can use right now, you know, live music and, and we can’t have it," said Dennis Alves. "And for freelancers, you know, unlike people who play in the BSO or, or something like that, you know, they have no fallback. And even with unemployment and all that some, some folks are not eligible for employment or not much employment. And that only goes so far.”
Alves, who works for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is also a freelance trumpeter and sits on the board of the new fund.
“All the Boston freelancers who have lost their work because of the pandemic, many, many of them are really good friends and acquaintances," he told WAMC. "And a bunch of us just got together right after that March 13, you know, death knell there. And we said, we got to do something for our colleagues because this is just not, this is just not right.”
So far, the fund has reached about half of its $200,000 goal, aiming to distribute grants to artists before 2021. Looking past the pandemic, Alves says the group is taking inspiration from another musicians’ support organization to continue forward in perpetuity.
“About 100 years ago, Sir Edward Elgar started an organization in London called Help Musicians," he explained. "And it's been literally going for 100 years and helping, temporarily helping musicians a time of crisis or times of opportunity, as they say, and so we're hoping- We're trying to model ourselves, you know, after that.”
To find out more about the New England Musicians Relief Fund, click here.
“During the summer, there were some outdoor events, and they were hiring bands to do outdoor events," said Houston. "But then as it gets cold, we're shut in again. And I, you know, two months. I haven't worked in two months now. And there's nothing coming in. It's frightening, actually.”
The New England Musicians Relief Fund hopes to support artists like Houston through the season.
“We're living in a time where music is the thing that we really can use right now, you know, live music and, and we can’t have it," said Dennis Alves. "And for freelancers, you know, unlike people who play in the BSO or, or something like that, you know, they have no fallback. And even with unemployment and all that some, some folks are not eligible for employment or not much employment. And that only goes so far.”
Alves, who works for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is also a freelance trumpeter and sits on the board of the new fund.
“All the Boston freelancers who have lost their work because of the pandemic, many, many of them are really good friends and acquaintances," he told WAMC. "And a bunch of us just got together right after that March 13, you know, death knell there. And we said, we got to do something for our colleagues because this is just not, this is just not right.”
So far, the fund has reached about half of its $200,000 goal, aiming to distribute grants to artists before 2021. Looking past the pandemic, Alves says the group is taking inspiration from another musicians’ support organization to continue forward in perpetuity.
“About 100 years ago, Sir Edward Elgar started an organization in London called Help Musicians," he explained. "And it's been literally going for 100 years and helping, temporarily helping musicians a time of crisis or times of opportunity, as they say, and so we're hoping- We're trying to model ourselves, you know, after that.”
To find out more about the New England Musicians Relief Fund, click here.
