by Anthony Ackerman (Faculty Coordinator, Music Program)
It’s become a cliché to say that this COVID-19 cloud is full of lots of silver linings. This is true at least for those of us who have the luxury to stay home, with a caring family or partner, and who have enough financial reserves to be comfortable for the foreseeable future. I live surrounded by a big garden and beautiful nature, so staying home is just beautiful. I made a video, called “My Crisis To-(not)Do List”, where, accompanied by my five guitars, I give five tips for flourishing in these (and all times): develop a mind-body practice, limit the intake (and sharing) of disturbing news, get physical, express gratitude, and reach out. You can listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OMRrVAl1sk
Even the Zoom sessions with my Expressive Culture class have an energy and intimacy that surprises me; I can see everybody’s face, and there is at least as much, if not more, two-way communication as in the classroom. And as for the communication with colleagues, our semi-regular music faculty check-ins as well as meetings with colleagues in New York (which we never had before), have strengthened our feeling of shared purpose. One of my goals as head of the music program has always been how to make the faculty feel like they’re part of a department — and it’s finally happened. We’re supporting each other in this big question: how can we help our students use music to weather this storm? We want to find a balance – not to be too demanding on them during this traumatic time, but also to help them by providing structure and motivation. When we return to Malé náměstí, we’ll be much stronger and richer.