Musicians in America during the COVID-19 Pandemic

FAIN: RJ-274196-20

Society for Ethnomusicology, Inc. (Bloomington, IN 47405-3657)
Stephen Stuempfle (Project Director: May 2020 to July 2023)

Three new full-time positions to research the impact of COVID-19 and the 2020 stay-at-home orders on professional music making in the United States.

The Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM) will hire three ethnomusicologists for twelve weeks to research the impact of COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders on music-making throughout the United States. Through online video interviews with a cross-section of musicians associated with diverse communities and music genres, the researchers will document what it is like to live in a society almost devoid of music-making in public space. What are the consequences of this sudden transformation for human sociability, communication, inspiration, and well-being, as well as for the artistry, careers, and economic livelihood of musicians? How are musicians engaging in alternative modes of music-making, such as organizing virtual performances via the Internet? SEM will use edited versions of the interviews and an accompanying interpretive text to create a publicly accessible online video archive that documents the lives of musicians in this time of crisis.

Associated Products

Musicians in America during the Covid-19 Pandemic (Web Resource)
Title: Musicians in America during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Author: Stephen Stuempfle (Project Director)
Author: Holly Hobbs (Researcher/Producer/Writer)
Author: Raquel Paraíso (Researcher/Producer/Writer)
Author: Tamar Sella (Researcher/Producer/Writer)
Author: Adriane Pontecorvo (Website Designer)
Abstract: This website documents the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on musicians and communities throughout the United States. The site contains 240 short video interviews conducted during 2020 with musicians in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 5 U.S. territories. Among the music genres represented are Native American traditions, jazz, blues, gospel, country, zydeco, norteño, mariachi, salsa, rock, hip hop, klezmer, and Western classical, as well as traditions from such countries as Cuba, Nicaragua, Peru, Brazil, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Ghana, Ethiopia, Turkey, Iraq, India, Indonesia, China, and Japan. The website also includes biographical notes on each musician interviewed and an interpretative essay. Collectively, the interviews offer a snapshot of what it was like to live in a society in which, for the first time in a century, concert halls, nightclubs, schools, places of worship, and other music settings largely turned silent.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://semmusicianscovid.com/
Primary URL Description: Dedicated website

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