Musicians Gift Concert Clothing to Colleagues Affected by Fires

By Laurie Niles: When Long Beach Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Roger Wilkie and LA Opera principal oboist Leslie Reed fled their Pacific Palisades house on January 7 under a fire evacuation, they didn't take much beyond their instruments, the cat and a few documents. "Once the official evacuation order came out, we evacuated very quickly," Wilkie said. "We thought we might be away for a couple of nights, so we just got the essentials. I had only the shirt I was wearing and a couple of other items, thrown very quickly into a suitcase." Something he certainly did not bring along: his tuxedo with tails. Very unfortunately, their house was one of the 6,000+ homes that burned down in the Pacific Palisades fire, along with 7,000 in Altadena in the Eaton Fire. They lost their home and everything that was in it. In the face of this extremely painful situation came the stress of finding a place to stay, first in the short-term, and then longer-term. And then there is dealing with insurance. "Everything else went on the back burner," Wilkie said. This was the case for tens of thousands of people, and hundreds of them were musicians. (See this mind-boggling list of 400+ musicians affected by the fires.) He was going to need those tails in less than a month - but that was not exactly his first priority. While Wilkie and so many others have been dealing with basic survival following the fires, a group of Los Angeles-area symphony musicians has banded together to help solve at least one of their problems: the need for concert clothing. "I started cleaning out my closets as usual in the new year, and then for all of us in LA, disaster happened," said violinist Colleen Coomber. "We learned how many of our colleagues had just lost everything. I was heartened to see how the whole city came out to make donations of food, supplies, clothing and services in large venues. However, seeing piles of clothing heaped on the asphalt at Santa Anita made me sad. As an introvert and proudly private person, as most musicians are, I knew that having to scavenge through random piles of stuff would be demoralizing." "I routinely pass my concert clothing on to colleagues, just because I don’t like the idea of my treasured stage wardrobe ending up in a pile of garbage. So, when (violinist) Dynell Weber and (flutist) Rena Urso commented about donations to musicians, I jumped on it," she said. Joined by cellist Karen Garrity and pianist Wendy Prober-Cohen, they soon began collecting new or gently-used, high-quality concert clothing from colleagues all over town.

L-R: Colleen Coomber, Dynell Weber, Wendy Prober-Cohen and Karen Garrity, of the Free Concert Clothing Co-op.

A flurry of text messages and a few Zoom meetings later, the effort quickly evolved into a highly-organized operation called the Free Concert Clothing Co-op. They now have collected more than 600 items of clothing from colleagues and friends all over California and from 10 different states. "Every time a piece came in, we photographed it, gave it a number and a category and description, with the size," Wendy said. The items they have collected are housed on six clothing racks at Wendy's home in a northwest suburb of LA, and they can be viewed online on a website that they created. Dedicated to the idea of preserving the dignity of every person they serve, they also have been meeting with fire victims in-person, by appointment, even personally bringing items to musicians in need. They even have a Facebook page. They have sought out clothing of all sizes: women's clothing from size 2 to plus-size, tuxedos for tall and short, as well as other kinds of clothing. The donations have come from members of the LA Philharmonic, faculty from Chapman University, the University of Redlands Choral Department and from across nine states including from members of the Naples (Fla.) Philharmonic, Oklahoma City Symphony and others. "We initially reached out to our colleagues in the classical world - we started with who we know," Wendy said. "But we are eager to help all the musicians who were affected. We have so much clothing, and the donations keep coming in. We want to give it all away." At this point they have distributed more than 100 items of clothing to 15 musicians who were affected by the fires - including musicians in the LA Phil, LA Opera, freelance musicians, composers, and conductors. It's taking time for people to come to them, because recovery from this disaster is a long-term project. Someone who is living out of a suitcase might not be ready to replenish their "closet" - if they don't yet have a closet. "As musicians affected by the fire find a little bit longer-term housing, they will be living less out of suitcases and hotels," Dynell said. "That will take some time. I spoke with one musician who was so relieved to have found something - for just one month. The fires are no longer on the news cycle, but that doesn’t mean our musical family is fine or that they have found longer-term housing." Those who have come to them for concert clothing have found the experience to be therapeutic, Wendy said. "I feel like it's part therapy," she said. "People talk. Maybe it feels easier to talk to us than it is to talk with close friends or family. We'll just listen," she said. People talk about the memories that their clothes held, and they talk about what they have been through. One couple who had lost their home and possessions told her they had gone to Target the day after the fire, only to be overwhelmed with the realization that they needed something from every single aisle. They said that it's hard to know how to respond, when people ask what you need. "How do you answer, when you need everything?" Wendy said that it has been gratifying to simply fill one of those needs - to be ready with something they didn't ever realize they needed yet. One woman was trying on dresses and found something that fit, that she truly liked. "Wow," she told her, "I can actually think about wearing something beautiful again." * * * So what happened to Roger, when the next Long Beach Symphony concert came up, less than a month after the fire? He suddenly needed a tuxedo - with tails. Long Beach is one of those holdouts for tradition - requiring the tails for men. But finding tails turned out to be quite a journey. First, a generous board member offered to help, taking him to a men's fine clothing to fit him for a new tux. However, they had none with tails, nor could they special-order them in time. The Free Concert Clothing Co-op found him some tails - a donation from an LA Phil musician. But they didn't quite fit. He ended up wearing a tuxedo from friend and colleague Terry Cravens, a trombonist who plays with the LA Opera orchestra and teaches at the University of Southern California. Roger still didn't have the right kind of wing-tipped shirt - before the fire, he'd had three of them. "I just wore a regular white dress shirt," he said. "I don't think too many people noticed."

Long Beach Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Roger Wilkie with guest artist Tessa Lark, on LBSO's Feb. 1 concert - the first after the fires.

No one noticed at all. Everyone pretty much understands. "This happened to so many colleagues, so many people, friends," Roger said. "I've honestly never witnessed this kind of outpouring of emotion and empathy, this feeling of community that we've been feeling this last couple months." For the musicians organizing the Free Concert Clothing Co-op, the whole process has made them realize how tightly knit the musical community really is. "This has been a labor of love," Colleen said. "Our real goal is give all these beautiful clothes away - to go out of business!" She added that they are not taking monetary donations - they mostly need help getting the word out to musicians in need. * * * To contact the Free Concert Clothing Co-op, CLICK HERE for their website; or CLICK HERE to e-mail them. To donate to Long Beach Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Roger Wilkie's Go-Fund-Me, CLICK HERE.You might also like:

• Concert Reunites Neighbors Following LA Fires
• Pasadena Symphony Helps Community Grieve and Give After Fires
• Help for Musicians, Teachers and Schools Affected by Los Angeles Fires

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