Virus alert: Are you losing your students?

One of the side-effects of the lockdown is that a handful of international performers, grounded for the first time in their careers, are advertising instrumental tuition online.

Professional teachers tell us that some of their students are dropping out in favour of a ‘star’ tutor.

If the tutors were Heifetz or Milstein, that might be excusable, but they appear to be mostly middle-rank performers with time on their hands and no regard for whom they might be harming. It’s a small-scale thing so far. Let us know if you have been affected.

Meantime, spare a thought for the professional examiners who have lost their occupation overnight. Here’s what we hear from one of them:

As you will know ABRSM cancelled all exams from last Wednesday. I knew that by seeing it on Facebook- despite being am examiner. Notification came to us in a mid morning email the next day. The examining panel is freelance. Compensation? Not a penny. When many orchestras and arts organisations are stretching themselves to the limit to do right by their freelancers, is it too much to think that a flagship, international organisation like ABRSM should do the same?