When she isn’t sheltering at home, 802 pianist and percussionist Rona Siddiqui writes musicals, music–directs, orchestrates, and plays workshops. The pandemic ground this work to a halt, but Rona’s been staying busy by attending Maestra workshops remotely and following her creative impulses wherever they lead, including writing humorous songs about our new reality and getting friends to jam in them. Rona is also using the extra time to play piano again for fun and to listen to new music, a different album every night. Balance all of that with YouTube workout videos, Words with Friends, and keeping up with the news every morning, and that’s how this New York musician is getting through quarantine. 

“I’ve been finding inspiration everywhere right now: in doing my laundry, in my favorite loungewear – these were a couple of recent new song inspirations. I listen quietly, I honor my feelings, whether they be laziness, silliness, frustration, fear, or sadness. If I want to write or play, I do that. And if I don’t, I don’t beat myself up. I know this moment will pass and we’ll all be playing together again soon. I’ve been overwhelmed by how supportive the music community has been, whether it be making sure we’ve all figured out how to file for unemployment and apply for grants, or how to use different software that enables us to ‘play’ together, or coming up with new platforms for us to promote our work as educators. New York musicians are savvy and scrappy, and we will survive this.” #MusiciansofNYQuarantineEdition #MusiciansofNY #802strong