Coronavirus String Quartet
is a musical reflection on the communication difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as seen through the lens of autism spectrum disorder.
Raising over £2000 in 30 days, Coronavirus String Quartet was only possible thanks to a highly successful Kickstarter campaign.
Written over the summer of 2021, this piece is a musical reflection on the communication issues caused by the pandemic and draws on my own experience of being on the autistic spectrum.
The genesis of this piece was sparked by a particularly powerful episode of medical drama ‘The Good Doctor’. The shows titular character, Shaun, is an extremely gifted doctor who is also on the autistic spectrum. In Season 4 Episode 1: “Frontline - Part 1”, a particularly poignant and harrowing episode about the pandemic, Shaun gleefully asks “How is Claire feeling?” with response being “It’s a little tough to tell Shaun, she’s wearing a mask”. Shaun goes on to explain in a customarily tone-deaf manner how exciting he finds this because now, like him under normal, pre-pandemic circumstances, nobody can read facial expressions and everyone will have to depend on “more reliable markers, like what people are saying”.
This scene really resonated with me because, just like Shaun I often struggle to read facial expressions and non-verbal cues because of my autism.
COVID-19 has had a huge effect on global society, the full extent of which will not be realised for years, if not decades. A topic of this magnitude is far too nebulous to be fully explored in a single work, yet it is important that we start to express our collective thoughts and feelings as a society in an effort to begin healing. Therefore, the piece focuses specifically on communication; an area in which I feel uniquely positioned to comment.
The work is based around one key theme, that morphs and expands with each movement as the virus spreads and mutates. This theme is never far away, just as the pandemic has loomed over our lives for nearly 2 years.
The piece consists of 4 movements, with one of these being split into 3 sub movements. Each movement comments on a facet of the UK government’s communication efforts during the pandemic.