Classical music recitals for tots up in air after Facebook remove musicians page
Recitals for Wrigglers, which believes their page was removed after an unrelated face mask advert sprang up in March, said they have been trying to get the page reinstated for seven months.Clea Friend, a cellist with the group, said they are furious about the removal of the page as it has left them cut off from customers and potential audiences at a time when they are struggling to stay afloat.The Edinburgh-based outfit were forced to postpone live recitals due to the pandemic, which were previously held in community halls and churches.But plans to add another string to their bow by providing online performances instead have been scuppered by the problems with the platform.Ms Friend said: "The page was our main way of reaching our audience. We've tried putting videos on other sites like Instagram, but we just don't get the same response. We had built up over 2000 followers on FB. It was mainly parents who would share events with each other. Now we are at a loss, at a time when we are struggling as musicians."Since the charity was set up six years ago by Ms Friend and violinist Louise Bevan, who wanted to carry on performing while looking after her kids, they have sold-out Edinburgh Fringe performances and held recitals for pre-schoolers in Holyrood Palace.Ms Friend, who has performed with a number of orchestras including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, said lost cash from live recitals has been a major blow but the lost contact customers through Facebook is making it even harder for them to survive."We've got to think about how we deliver recitals in a covid-safe way now. And that's not easy, the whole point of the recitals is that they are a sensory educational experience."Lots of little ones are missing out on the recitals. Classical music really impacts their mood. I've seen us take them from excited and dancing to calm in seconds, because they listen closely and really engage in a way that adults don't. They could get so much out of the performances at this time.""It's so exasperating. We are both really upset by this especially when I see all the inappropriate stuff you see on Facebook, and we're all being told to think creatively or retrain. Recitals for Wrigglers is a big part of how we make our living, it's about a third of my income. The future for musicians is really uncertain.The group first contacted Facebook in March when the page was taken down and followed up several times. Ms Friend tried to set up another page in June with a change to the name but it was taken down within days.She added: "We are stopped in our tracks. We are looking at live events online or recordings. In future we hope to do outdoor recitals. But young ones are only the right age for a short period, so we have to be able to communicate with them regularly and quickly. We'll must get this sorted."