In New Orleans, Music Education Programs Cautiously Fall Back In Step

In the weeks after this year's Mardi Gras celebrations, New Orleans experienced one of the most explosive COVID-19 outbreaks in the country. Since then, music has largely been missing from a city that depends on it.

Parades have been canceled for the upcoming Mardi Gras season and indoor performances are prohibited. Outdoor performances, no matter how small, require a permit. The restrictions, meant to limit the spread of the coronavirus, have devastated professional musicians and affected other aspects of the city's vibrant music scene, including education.

Sonya Robinson, co-director of the arts education nonprofit Artist Corps New Orleans, says one reason why music education has been slow to start back up in New Orleans is the disproportionate impact the virus has had on African Americans.

"We [probably] have the largest percentage of Black educators in the country ... that are music educators, and we know that our community was one of those hardest hit," Robinson says.