by Jarrett Hoffman
How are you? That question feels more meaningful than usual right now, not just a greeting but a real entry point into each other’s changed lives.
I reached out to five area musicians to see how they’re steering themselves through the Coronavirus crisis, and how they’re spending their time when the slate of performance work has been wiped clean.
Their replies by email — a mix of serious, thoughtful, and lighthearted — touched on a variety of topics: their downtime, their feelings about social media, what they miss about live music, their anxiety, and their hopes for the future.
Crossover artist Gabriel Bolkosky, who studied classical violin at the Cleveland Institute of Music, then jazz violin at the University of Michigan, was introduced to the music of Argentine nuevo tango composer Astor Piazzolla by friend and cellist Derek Snyder. “He got me interested in Piazzolla a little over a decade ago,” Bolkosky said in a telephone conversation. “Pretty much from the moment I first heard it, I realized it was music I’d been wanting to play my whole life. His music and its history are so rich, and his musical journey is one that I relate to and admire. Something in the music speaks very deeply to my heart, and because it opens itself up to jazz, it’s the perfect crossover style for classical players.”
Twenty-some audience members mostly lined the bar. Soup and pretzel bites were eaten, and little kitchen clangs were heard. It might have been the most laid-back setting of any concert. And — not but — the music was excellent, as the Verditas Quartet thrilled Cleveland’s BOP STOP Sunday night with quartets by Haydn, Beethoven, and Dvořák — and their own personality. 
