FRANKLIN, Mass. — These are challenging times for all of us.
For many working musicians, the COVID-19 crisis has been an economic disaster as gigs and live performances are canceled.
In Franklin, the Encore Music Academy and Recording Studio is keeping the paychecks coming for a group of working musicians who teach at the school.
Co-owner Lisa Ostrow says the coronavirus caught her attention early this year when she began seeing news reports from other countries.
“I was feeling very uncomfortable that things seemed to be moving so quickly,” Ostrow said. “I wanted to get out ahead of it.”
Lisa talked to co-owner Patrick Dreier about her concerns. He admits he was skeptical.
“She had the foresight to see it before it happened. And really was responsible for brainstorming and implementing the entire thing,” Dreier said.
Ostrow and Dreier came up with a plan to close its facility and move all of Encore’s lessons online for its 400 students if the worst happened.
On March 12, just before everything changed for our society, Ostrow and Dreier decided to put the plan into action. That move likely saved the school. It almost certainly saved jobs.
Lea Botta is the Director of Program Development for Encore.
She says Encore’s move prevented a personal financial crisis.
“I‘m also a freelance musician, so all of my gigs got completely canceled. And if I lost my job at Encore, I would have been completely out of work. Zero dollars coming in. That was a very scary thought,” Botta said.
Right now, classes are in full swing at Encore. Students are still receiving one on one instruction over the internet, instead of familiar face to face lessons, but so far, it is working.
Encore will stay open, online, as long as the coronavirus is a threat.
“If we hadn’t been able to have the technology at our fingertips that we do, I’m afraid Encore would not have been able to continue,” Ostrow said.
“Our priorities and our responsibilities are not only to the families and the students we are continuing to teach but to our faculty as well,” she added.
If you’d like to learn more about Encore Music Academy and Recording Studio, including how you can support it, visit here.
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