During my time off from playing at the symphony, I have been hanging out at home in Point Loma cuddling my two crazy cats, reading tons of books and drinking entirely too much coffee. It took some time, but eventually the cats let me share part of the couch, and I learned to really commit to relaxation like they do so well. One of the upsides of lockdown is having the time to really connect with your surroundings, and I have successfully become as close as humanly possible to being a cat, a dream come true.

Eventually, I had to get up off the couch since I am, in fact, a human. I have had a lovely time teaching private flute lessons and appearing as a guest teaching artist in the masterclass setting, all held virtually of course. All of the students have kept up with their work over the year, and they are a continuing source of inspiration for me. I also spent the first several months of lockdown taking various online courses through Harvard and edX. I certainly indulged in a lot of surfing (surprise surprise to those who know me well), and I traded my car for an ’89 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia camper van. Complete with bunk beds and a little kitchen, “Casa Blanca” has been perfect for enjoying San Diego in a socially distanced manner. The winter surf season was truly one for the books; we had perfect sunny and glassy conditions and nonstop back to back swells. The ocean provided an excellent escape from all of the chaos, including a very beautiful display of bioluminescence back in the spring of 2020.

Probably the highlight of the year was travelling to New York to witness my brother’s marriage over the holidays. Like so many others, their wedding was cancelled in June, so they decided to stick it to Covid and get hitched at Town Hall just two days before Christmas Eve. We were very fortunate to be able to get the families together for a small Christmas wedding dinner celebration. I also have to mention that I successfully made them a delicious (albeit amateur) wedding cake! I practiced diligently to get it just right, as is the nature of any musician attempting such an endeavor. Oh, and there was a cat figurine on top that looks exactly like their cat, of course.

Although I am sharing with you some of the fun gems from my year of quarantine, it has ultimately been an absolute roller coaster of a year and heartbreaking not to be able to perform in a live setting for our audience. However, returning to work this week at our new home has washed away all of the low moments and set me right into a dream state. The Shell is more glorious than I could have imagined. Arriving there on Tuesday morning to the sweet sounds of my colleagues playing their signature warm ups lifted my spirits to the sky. I absolutely cannot wait for our audience to join us in the experience, they are in for a real treat! San Diego has gained an incredible new cultural center, and I could not be more proud to be a part of this orchestra. Goodbye lockdown, the symphony is ready to spread joy and bring everyone back together down at the Shell!

A Flutist in Lockdown, by Rose Lombardo