One thing this shutdown is really laying bare is which classical musicians come from families with gobs of money and resources and which ones don& #39;t.

In normal times, no one ever talks about this divide, because it& #39;s considered rude *to the ones with the money.*

And it doesn& #39;t necessarily break down along the the lines you& #39;d expect. I know some top-tier soloists and conductors who are in dire straits right now because they *don& #39;t* come from money and they& #39;ve been supporting their families for as long as they& #39;ve been adults.

There& #39;s a tendency in this industry to assume that the people in the fanciest gowns and tuxes have the most resources, but those are costumes, not clothes.

I have so much personal baggage in this area that it& #39;s hard for me to talk deeply about it without getting hysterical, so I& #39;ll just say that this is a very complicated and confusing industry for anyone who doesn& #39;t have outside support and was fed on the myths of meritocracy.