A supplied image of New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall. Appropriate through May 2021, at least.
A broad-based effort, begun by the Boston Musicians Association, wants to address the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic on the performing arts.
Immediate Relief offers just that—available funds for freelancers in the music world. Temporarily administered through the national Sweet Relief effort, the newly established New England Musicians Relief Fund wants to help now, and build resources for the future.
The pandemic shutdown has made every musician scramble to survive financially, and with the first round of federal support expiring, that survival becomes even more precarious.
“The first person any musician calls are the officers of the union,” says Gabriel Langfur Rice, himself a trombonist in the Rhode Island Philharmonic, active freelancer with other Boston-area organizations, and union board member.
“The BMA immediately began gathering resources to pass on to musicians,” he says. “They became experts on the unemployment system. And we looked for partner organizations, to connect musicians with relief money, and to create a way for people with money to help and have it be tax deductible.”
Ultimately, the scope of the need required expanding outside union resources. Rice helped create a broader-based committee to explore possibilities. Comprised of freelance musicians, industry executives, patrons and union members, the committee recommended an initial alliance with Sweet Relief, which has been facilitating musician support for decades.
Sweet Relief’s already established Covid-19 Fund pays bills for qualifying musicians. Amounts vary on specific needs. “Sweet Relief had the infrastructure and capability to work with us right away,” Rice says. “They have a mechanism to decide who is eligible, and how to provide tax benefits to those who want to give. They pay a bill, or part of a bill, a credit, a landlord or a utility.”
Initial applications and donations will be handled directly by Sweet Relief. The NEMRF organization is finalizing its own 501(c)3 status, with the help of the Boston Arts and Business Council. When that happens, the New England–based organization will administer funds.
“This is not a union initiative,” Rice says. “And it’s certainly not just aimed at union musicians.
“For lots of reasons we want our reach to extend beyond the community of the union, beyond the classical and academic worlds, to reach church musicians, those on the club circuit and in rock bands.”
A freelancer himself, Rice understands the urgency in a personal way. “This took a long time to organize, and I wish we could have done it quicker.
“We are hearing about a lot of musicians who didn’t qualify for unemployment,” he says. “A lot of us have mixed income, some W2 and some schedule C. Some fall smack in the middle, or they are qualifying with a very low income level.
“The best advice I can give anyone is keep looking for all the possible resources,” he says. “And we’re asking musicians to tell their non-musician friends about this new way to help out.”
Musicians can apply to the Immediate Relief campaign at COVID-19 Fund - Sweet Relief. Donations can be made at sweetrelief.nemrf.org.