This was supposed to be a busy spring for 802 violinist, violist, and arranger Katie Kresek, who plays the violin in Moulin Rouge! on Broadway and was scheduled to tour with the bands Elbow and Five for Fighting. As a teaching artist at a few different cultural institutions, Katie was thankfully already accustomed to using Zoom for her teaching work and has been helping other musicians adjust to the software while continuing to teach remotely herself. Katie just started learning guitar in January and has been taking virtual lessons from a colleague, as well as arranging music for the bands she plays with to share online in lieu of the performances they would have played this spring. Keeping busy for Katie has also meant cooking and sharing meal tips, discovering the joys of gardening in her backyard, and holding virtual happy hours nearly every night with friends from different gigs. 

“My inspiration is coming from people right now, particularly our healthcare workers. I have several friends who are working in hospitals and their bravery is humbling to witness every day. I think one of the best things about musicians and music teaching artists in particular is that they offer creative and expressive outlets, community, and glimmers of hope, so I’ve invested most of my time so far in supporting them by offering free Zoom training, lesson ideas, resources, and advice to help them do what they do best. Nevertheless, I miss making music with my colleagues more than anything, and one of the toughest things has been not being able to play with them. That’s a testament to the visceral, physical, social, and emotional power of what we do, and how important it is that music be live and in-person. I don’t think there are many out there who aren’t listening to music or watching movies or TV with powerful soundtracks to get them through this, and that reminds me that as a union we really need to fight hard to win payments for our work on streaming platforms and with residuals in general.” #MusiciansofNYQuarantineEdition #MusiciansofNY #802strong