A Way to Help

Dear friends,

I hope this finds you safely at home and in good health.

I wanted to let you know that all of my own work is currently on hold. The Multnomah Arts Center is currently closed until at least April 28th. I'm also not teaching out of my home studio. My wife works in healthcare and is our primary source of income. But other than her work, my family is strictly following guidelines for social distancing and sheltering at home to try to help slow the spread of COVID-19. 

I have a tremendous amount of concern for my colleagues. Many professional musicians operate completely independent of any regular employment. It's a constant hustle to the next gig or teaching opportunity. All of these gigs are now wiped from the calendar for the near future. It's going to be incredibly difficult and stressful for them.

There are ways to help if you are in the position to give:

• Take some online music lessons directly from a music teacher via Skype or other platform. (Contact me. I'm willing to help you find a teacher.)
• Buy music and merch directly from artist websites. 
• Attend online concerts and donate.

In regard to that last bullet point, The Alberta Rose Theaterin Portland is offering a series of twenty streaming concerts for $100. I can think of no better way to support a great local venue and some of our favorite Portland musical artists, and also to keep the economy moving along a bit. Get a ticket and enjoy a huge amount of wonderful music. 
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Please stay safe and do your part to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Try to keep yourself busy doing things you love to do with the people you love at home. We all need to tend not only to our physical health, but our mental health as well.

I look forward to getting back to music with you!

Best,
Chuck Cheesman
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