One Year on: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Lives of Freelance Orchestral Musicians in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Before the drastic disruption caused by the sudden emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, 85% of the United Kingdom’s 14,000 orchestral musicians were self-employed freelance workers, engaged in busy and varied portfolio careers comprising a combination of orchestral, West End theatre, chamber music, and commercial recording work. Between May and June 2020 we carried out a first study examining the impact of the pandemic on the lives of 24 self-employed orchestral musicians, all established freelancers. Twelve were mid-career and 12 were late-career (described in that study as “seasoned”). They all reported having lost their much-loved performing careers, missing music making and colleagues, and being anxious about the future of the music profession. However, there were some differences between the two groups: the late-career participants demonstrated greater financial and emotional resilience, while the mid-career musicians reported distress, confusion, and anxiety about their identity as musicians. In the present follow-up study, we aimed to examine the impact of the first year of the pandemic on the lives of 21 of the same musicians. We found that while all the mid-career participants remained committed to their performing careers, many late-career participants aged 54–59 had developed interests in non-performing music work, and the older late-career participants, aged 65 and over, feared that they might already, de facto, have retired. We discuss the findings with reference to the precarity of freelance orchestral musicians’ lives, lifespan models of musicians’ careers, self-determination theory and post-traumatic growth, and their implications for music colleges and musicians’ support organizations.

The impacts of Covid-19 lockdowns on professional and personal lives of freelance creative collaborative musicians

“…One of the professional coping strategies identified by the participants was maintaining their playing skills through regular practice and learning to play new instruments. Similarly, Cohen and Ginsborg (2021, 2022) reported motivation to play, practice, and expand musical skills as sub-themes in their analysis of interviews of professional orchestral musicians. Fram et al (2021) also reported that some musicians explored new ways of being collaborative and expanded their practices during the pandemic, following an initial period of acute loss.…”

“…As Mahdiani and Ungar (2021) explain, “exposure to significant threat or severe adversity and the achievement of positive adaptation are consistent attributes of resilience” (p. 148). Similarly, Cohen and Ginsborg (2022) reported post-traumatic growth in mid-career musicians who were “open to new possibilities” and “discovering personal strengths” post-pandemic (pp. 10–11).…”

“…Previous research has focused on freelancing musicians working in larger organizations such as orchestras (e.g., Cohen & Ginsborg, 2021, 2022). This study provides new evidence for the cultural policy and arts managers regarding the professional and personal impacts of lockdowns on freelance creative collaborative musicians and highlights the urgent need for state support of the small-medium arts sector.…”

“…Focus on relationships through online social interactions with family and friends was also important for the participants. Similarly, Cohen and Ginsborg (2022) reported that orchestral musicians "valued support networks of friends, family, and colleagues" during the pandemic (p. 8). Warran et al (2022) also described a greater engagement with family and friends in the changing attitudes to work of freelance cultural workers in the United Kingdom.…”

“…Differences between the two groups emerged, with mid-career musicians appearing to be “less motivated to practice, less engaged in collaborative music making, getting less pleasure from the music making that they were doing and less emotionally robust than their seasoned colleagues” (p. 11). However, a follow-up 1 year later showed that “mid-career participants remained committed to their performing careers” while the older musicians had virtually retired (Cohen & Ginsborg, 2022, p. 12). The Melbourne Digital Concert Hall in Australia was one initiative that allowed artists to continue performing on a digital platform (Vincent, 2023).…”