Jennifer Koh

The New York Times
April 1, 2020
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‘Joy in the Grief’: Musicians Are Making Art in a Pandemic

With performances on hold because of the coronavirus, what are artists like Barbra Streisand and Michael Tilson Thomas working on at home?

The violinist Jennifer Koh is starting a new commissioning series, “Alone Together.”
Caitlin Ochs for The New York Times

Many classical artists have had barely a week off in their careers. But with performances now on hold worldwide for months to come, what creative projects are they working on? These are edited excerpts from their conversations with Joshua Barone, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, Anthony Tommasini, Seth Colter Walls and Zachary Woolfe.

Jennifer Koh, violinist

I feel I’ve gained wisdom from my parents about what it was like to be refugees. But I don’t have the wisdom for this. It feels like everything’s changed.

I came up with this project, “Alone Together.” A lot of composer colleagues have salaried positions. Others are freelance, and vulnerable. I started calling colleagues with positions and asking them for help with our community, asking them to recommend freelance composers to write solo violin pieces. I guaranteed the money personally: $500 per 30 seconds of music, a respectable rate.

I’m going to play the 16 pieces from my apartment, over Instagram, and I’m donating my time and work. All the money is going to these composers.

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