Seeing the brighter side of social distancing

I can’t exactly remember when Australians were suddenly forced to adhere to public health orders which included heavy restrictions on social interaction and the forced closure of many businesses (coronavirus). All I know is that it happened pretty fast. In the space of a week, we went from having our freedoms to having only the basic necessities. The general instruction was to “stay home” unless you need to go out for supplies, exercises or caring for someone else. Generally, I prefer to stay at home but when that’s forced upon you, the more I felt the need for greater social interaction.

The bright side of this quarantine is that I’ve had ample opportunity to practice and record pieces. Equipped with a recent 3 manual organ upgrade and the power of Hauptwerk virtual pipe organ software, I was in an impeccable position than most of my organist contemporaries. It’s deeply saddening to see many of my friends stuck at home and are not allowed to visit their churches—even to practice alone. So yes, quarantine meant that I could learn and record repertoire to build up my YouTube and Spotify channels. Sharing my videos online and to various social media platforms has also sparked interest from composers around the world. They have asked me to play their pieces which have been a breath of fresh air—not to mention increased visibility of their pieces (and sales!).

Given that all my upcoming recitals have been indefinitely postponed and my church duties on hold, I’ve had to explore and ramp up other avenues of income online. The launch of my Patreon, online services, alongside YouTube, Spotify, blogging, using a crypto web browser and affiliate marketing (organ socks!) are just some of the ways I’ve been exploring. Anyway, enough of that…here are some of my favourite recordings since quarantine:

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