From left: musicians Jennifer Koh, Molly Kirk Parlier, and Rory Ferreira
“As the coronavirus precautions shut down public spaces, clubs and concert halls are empty … artists are trying to figure out how they’ll get by,” reports Ari Shapiro in Wednesday’s (3/18) National Public Radio. Violinist Jennifer Koh, rapper Rory Ferreira, and Bluewater Kings Band musician Molly Kirk Parlier speak about how they “are coping with the loss of their main source of revenue. Jennifer Koh: “I don’t even really have savings, I just have fees coming in from performances I did. So if this goes on into June, then I also will be in trouble.… For classical music … the place where we are able to make income is really from live performances…. We’re in an incredibly fragile position, all of us freelancers. Rory Ferreira: Nashville … was just hit by a tornado. So the first show [of my tour] was here at home and all the proceeds are going to Gideon’s Army, to rebuild efforts… We knew we were canceling all other 20 shows after that…. A lot of us don’t have health insurance. Molly Kirk Parlier: A lot of our musicians who play in our band are performing concerts live on Facebook and on Instagram, and they’re asking for just tips via Venmo or QuickPay or any other app.”
