Joshua Roman on Long Covid, Cello, Charging Hard, and Brick Walls

Covid hit everybody, either personally or as members of society, and our mental health was damaged. It was trauma and it largely hasn’t been processed. When Joshua Roman became the principal cellist at the prestigious Seattle Symphony at age 22, it wasn’t really a surprise. As he explains, he had been training since the age of 3, desperate to get better, intent on overtaking Yo-Yo Ma and Pablo Casals. He didn’t just run for fun, he targeted a sub-six minute mile. After Seattle, Joshua was a world traveling soloist with no fixed address and yet more striving. Then the pandemic hit and his covid became long covid, taking his energy and, often, his ability to even read a sentence much less sheet music. Joshua tells us about the life change that occurred as a result, his careful parceling out of his remaining energy, and the more focused and content he lives after the brick wall collision.

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