Cohen Susanna, Ginsborg Jane
Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Centre for Music Performance Research, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Front Psychol. 2021 Apr 9;12:645967. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.645967. eCollection 2021.
The introduction of social distancing, as part of efforts to try and curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, has brought about drastic disruption to the world of the performing arts. In the UK the majority of professional orchestral musicians are freelance and therefore self-employed. These players, previously engaged in enjoyable, busy, successful, portfolio careers, are currently unable to earn a living carrying out their everyday work of performing music, and their future working lives are surrounded by great uncertainty. The aim of the present study was to examine how established professional musicians are experiencing this period, and to look for similarities and differences between the experiences of musicians in the middle of their performing careers (aged 35-45), with those of older players (aged 53 and over). Single semi-structured interviews were carried out over Zoom with 24 freelance, self-employed orchestral musicians; 12 mid-career musicians aged 35-45, and 12 seasoned musicians aged 53 and over. Thematic analysis identified themes common to both groups: the loss of a much-loved performing career, missing music making and colleagues, and anxiety about the future of the music profession. It also identified differences between the two groups: challenges to their identity as a musician, the extent of their anxiety about finances, the extent of their emotional distress, attitudes toward practicing and engaging in collaborative music making, and confusion over future career plans. Findings are discussed with reference to lifespan models of musicians' career development, the PERMA model of wellbeing, and the concept of resilience.
作为试图遏制新冠疫情传播努力的一部分，社交距离的引入给演艺界带来了巨大破坏。在英国，大多数专业管弦乐音乐家是自由职业者，因此是个体经营者。这些演奏者此前从事着愉快、忙碌、成功的多样化职业，目前却无法通过日常的音乐表演工作谋生，他们未来的职业生涯充满了巨大的不确定性。本研究的目的是考察成熟的专业音乐家如何经历这一时期，并寻找处于表演生涯中期（35至45岁）的音乐家与年长演奏者（53岁及以上）经历之间的异同。通过Zoom对24名自由职业、个体经营的管弦乐音乐家进行了半结构化访谈；其中12名是35至45岁的职业生涯中期音乐家，12名是53岁及以上的资深音乐家。主题分析确定了两组共有的主题：失去热爱的表演生涯、想念音乐创作和同事，以及对音乐行业未来的焦虑。分析还确定了两组之间的差异：作为音乐家的身份认同面临的挑战、对财务状况的焦虑程度、情感困扰的程度、对练习和参与合作音乐创作的态度，以及对未来职业规划的困惑。研究结果将参照音乐家职业发展的生命周期模型、幸福感的PERMA模型以及复原力的概念进行讨论。
