Women Making Music 2020, the year for Music Therapy
By Peggy Ratusz
W
omen Making Music – 2020, the year for Music Therapy
Writing this feature during the most fantastical year of my existence has been especially therapeutic. Musicians and music teachers were suddenly thrust into the world of Zoom, JamKazam, YouTube & Facebook Live. They didn’t even have time to kick and scream about it at first; they just figured it out! In mid-March I didn’t have to look far to find several daring darlings of songs strings and other things, 8
thesofiamagazine.com | December 2020
keeping their chops and spirits up by diving head first into the live video streaming pool. So in April and May I wrote about the local mavens of motivation and innovation I was discovering day in and day out on social media. From all over the country, I saw and still see groups of women in the entertainment field, giving advice and free tutorials; blogging and sharing how to do what they’re doing! Summer found some artists/performers accepting a scant few gig opportunities for the chance to generate income by playing on an outdoor stage in front of a limited audience.
As summer heated up, so did the demand for acts needing to, having to and wanting to play for the larger audiences phase 2 of opening the state would allow. Some expressed trepidation in sharing their in-person live performance dates on websites, event invites and email blasts for fear of judgment. Some forged ahead incorporating their own strict personal distancing guidelines, limiting mingling time with fans. Some acts formed Covid bubbles that now include band mates, in addition to mate-mates. Our June issue’s featured female and I spent an hour on the phone commis-
