Doransa, glad to hear it is going well!
Massachusetts has been trending downward on its 7-day rolling average of new cases per day since August 3rd when they had 6.26 new cases per day per 100,000 residents. They are currently down to 5.51 â well below NY Gov. Cuomoâs quarantine threshold of 10 new cases per day per 100,000. Only 6 states in the US are doing better than MA on this metric: CT, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI, and VT (i.e., all of Gov. Bakerâs neighbors in the northeast). There must be some acceptable rate of new cases, and I think MA is well below whatever that should be.
Moved kid into apartment in Philly last weekend. As of now (moving target?) his classes are still hybrid. Majority of classes online, including piano, but very thoughtful planning for ensembles and practicing. All large ensembles will be broken down into smaller ones, practicing as a group is limited to one hour, practice rooms are reservation only (which theyâve always been for percussionists), percussion lessons and ensembles are still a go. Keeping fingers crossed it stays that way.
Majority of the kids @ Temple are from neighboring states which are doing well. Temple parents are freaking out since UPenn just announced this morning they are 100% online. Temple did have a small summer session on campus that was very successful (labs and such) so they are pretty confident in their plan.
We got more specific info on S22âs choir rehearsals at FSU. They will be online through Sept, and plan to go face to face in Oct. When they go face to face, they will be separated by at least ten feet while singing and have designated entry/exit points to avoid bunching up. Masked while not singing I think. The way it is written is unclear but I donât know how anyone could sing with a mask on. Rehearsals are held in a large outdoor amphitheater. Larger choirs will be divided into smaller groups. Should be interesting.
@vistajay wondering about all the research coming out about aerosolsâŠ
@compmom , FSU does specifically address aerosol contact in its plan, which I just posted a portion of. I donât think anyone can say what level of risk singers and other musicians, faculty and staff are accepting to be on campus. Maybe we will know in 5 years.
Oh and meant to say S18 in post #223
Ten feet still sounds iffy. Outdoors sounds great 
Pianists and percussionists have access at my kidâs school for obvious reasons. Still waiting for more info.
Our son took a non-stop flight (window seat!) and moved into an apartment near campus with one of his friends. No quarantine required by state. He couldnât get tested before he left home due to testing shortage / severe delay in our area. Some of his friends are already in town. Campus is closed and fully online / remote but limited access to campus may be permitted (they are still working on it). Small live music performance / events may be back in town eventually. His school gave 10% tuition discount to all students for a fall semester. They just wanted to help all students / families. And if they really canât open a campus in spring semester, they may consider another tuition discount. They are trying very hard not to cut programs or faculty (no pay-cuts) but if an enrollment is very low, they may have to. As I know, none of his friends are taking LOA.
It is going to be very different semester (and probably an academic year) but he is together with his friends to study, grow and get through this very difficult time as a responsible adult and a musician.
At airport, he thanked us and told us that he learned a lot about life and family in last 5 months living with us âfull timeâ. During high school years, he was always very busy for school and performances. He wasnât at home âalmostâ entire summers to participate summer programs. One thing pandemic gave us was plenty of family time without checking calendarsâŠI think that he will be even more deeply connected with his friends / faculty and the town where he hopes to start his music career.
UNT College of Music has posted video of itâs first choir rehearsal on social media (Facebook and Insta) if anyone is curious to see and hear a snippet of a masked and very socially distanced college choir.
UNT has several choirs and only the top one is meeting in anything like a typical form. Theyâve eliminated the baroque choir for this year and added a virtual choir as an option. All the lower choirs are meeting in many smaller ensembles and only once a week for 30 minutes actually in person, I believe. They are only preparing one or two pieces as full choirs. No performances with live audiences. My son is in A Capella choir this year. He says they are focusing on making recordings. Itâs a smaller ensemble than usual to allow for enough distancing ( itâs not just six feet for choir) and is meeting four days a week in person, masked and distanced. Because large spaces are in high demand, they are rehearsing somewhere different each day, ( including the main performance hall and outdoors) for shorter times, with lots of time between rehearsals/classes to air out the rooms.
Orchestra has an in person and a virtual option, with no auditions for either ensemble and a modified rehearsal schedule.
I really hope this goes well. It was really nice to hear them sing again.
Hi all- thanks so much for all the kind words and well wishes.
D is moved in and I made it back home without too much sadness. Lots of texting, calling, and FaceTiming, but weâre managing. She has a lovely dorm and we are both happy. My other D is getting better each week and more independent. What a summer! The other kids are back to school online.
One of the best things to come out of this is the organization, self-advocacy, and proactive work that my D has to do now. She has a ton of technology requirements for the first few weeks of recording in low latency rooms, and lots of balancing of two very different campus schedules. Navigating campuses, learning the ropes for testing and dining halls, and just being responsible for everything is critical for her and this age group in general.
The assertive 2x a week testing policy at Tufts is very reassuring. Iâm so impressed with the level of cooperation on the part of MA residents. Hoping the semester manages to be something close to a regular learning environment. My D is nervous that she hasnât had in person lessons for so long, but she will get back in the swing soon enough. NEC has been very communicative for those kids who came to campus as well as those who stayed home. Lots of effort on their part!
Best wishes for smooth move ins to everyone. I will be going through the college process again soon when my 11th grader is back up to speed. This train wonât stop for a few years yetâŠlol.
My sonâs conservatory has started all-online fall semester. According to deanâs newsletter, they have more enrollments than fall 2019. I knew that they had more incoming students who paid a deposit in May but it sounds like not too many students decided on taking a gap year / LOA option. I think that a 10% tuition discount that came in early August made some differences on final enrollment decisions by students / families. Even with a huge financial hit by pandemic, schoolâs financial outlook seems OK for now without cutting into programs (but they did eliminate several positions). Practice rooms are open for off-campus students by reservations. School town seems managing the virus spread well so re-opened businesses with limited capacity. Live music sounds like coming back slowly so my son is finding a few small paid gig locally.
Itâs been crazy time for us too! S moved in to off-campus apt for NEC. NEC has strict health check-ins and weekly testing. Looks like all classes are online with some one-on-one for projects later in semester. S is BM Comp but auditioned for choir for ensemble. They will learn online then have series of in-person rehearsals for a month with 16 ft between them and only 1 per day (they split voices to alternate days). They only have small ensembles this semester so focus on chamber. Heâll have 4 concerts this year - his comp concert is limited to 5 people ensemble, a solo voice and 2 choir.
His school did a wonderful virtual convocation with an amazingly produced ensemble closing piece. Speeches and performances were in their main hall with streaming.
They have a virtual hall/floor program with RAs in Teams plus synchronous zoom for classes with lots of Teams and chats to engage/connect students. NEC has a full practice room availability and safety program. I know Berklee/BoCo students are struggling with practice space (only 1 place for practice rooms for them in area).
We rented him a 2 BR (could have been a 3 BR but opted to keep an open common room) with another NEC student. Lovely young man and they get along great so I think itâs better than being in dorms from health perspective plus theyâre both out of quarantine with 2 neg COVID tests now. LOVE how strict Boston/MA is for public spaces. So far, so good!
Like everyone it a challenging semester to come but hopefully a rewarding one as well with new experiences, many opportunities to connect and make music, and appreciate how really fortunate they are. Very glad we have 3 years until D goes to college!! But virtual HS is a challenge as well!
HUGE thing - for singers - check out Mandela Masks on FB. Specially designed (and tested by opera singers) masks for singers. Really amazing and much more comfortable for singing.
Hi @ClassCompMom, good to hear that your studentâs experience at NEC is going well.
You wrote that
â I know Berklee/BoCo students are struggling with practice space (only 1 place for practice rooms for them in areaâ
Berklee and BoCo are 100% remote and did not invite students back. I know there was one building/practice room open for local kids to reserve, but I saw that as a bonus since campus is closed. Itâs a much different situation in that students were told not to expect campus services and access to buildings during this semester. I donât know which Berklee students are struggling, I hope they didnât except practice rooms to be available similar to a normal semester.
Iâm on the Berklee/BoCo Parent FB pages. I donât think they expected it but hoped. There is a building available they can reserve for 30 min sessions.
I was speaking more from the point of understanding the kidsâ difficulties finding places to practice - especially dancers - as more of a point of gratitude that NEC is âhybridâ and providing places to practice. I am sure online NEC students are having the same struggle as everyone in this country is with remote learning - space to practice and learn effectively to the best of their ability.
I think all students need our empathy as they come to terms with their experiences now - I didnât think anyone seemed to feel entitled or that the school was at fault.
Hello There !!! My clarinetist is having the time of his life⊠and being overwhelmed at the same time at MPSOM. He wrote in his college essay⊠all he wanted to do was PLAY âŠhis clarinet, that is. He gets to do that a LOT and in person with Clarinet Studio class (where all the other students are Masters and Doctoral students - freaked him out ! - heâs the class baby) Symphony Band (Solo Clarinetist, based on seating auditions recorded and sent before school started. He was SUPER excited, yet scared about that!), Chamber Woodwinds with a flutist, oboist and the Bassoonist from the Pittsburgh Symphony as a coach/player (stoked about that too!) and of course Applied Lessons. He was asked to play in the orchestra but could not fit it in his schedule. This AND learning to play the piano keeps him in that music building constantly⊠which is open, and new air circulated constantly until 1:00a.m. He has 18 credits hours (Double Majoring in Performance and Music Technology - they had to create special codes at the registrars office to accommodate and still have him be able to finish in 4 years ! He has THE best advisor !! ) where all but 1 class is in the music building. All music classes in person except group piano which is Hyflex⊠one day in the lab and the next time concurrently from his dorm room with the other group in the lab. He had to take a keyboard with him to school. Actually, Musicianship Intensive Aural is also Hyflex⊠One day in class and the next from dorm room. Heâll never complain again that he doesnât get to play enough⊠HA 
The Symphony Band is broken down into two smaller groups to allow for social distancing and âclearing the airâ, so to speak, between 45 mins rehearsals. They also have special âmatsâ on the floor for their uhmmm drippings. In between classes, they redo the air in the space for 15 mins or so, and then the next group comes in.
Heâs playing/practicing so much he really doesnât have time for anything else, and feels heâs not missing anything. Itâs a LOT more than he had anticipated, so just trying to keep up. Not much going on around campus that beats getting to play live with a group is what he says. That true musician His roommate ( a guitarist/ jazz music major) is a social butterfly and always trying to get him to do stuff and go out, but he feels he needs to spend free time practicing until he gets his groove. COVID is in the way anyway, so not much going on in the way of socializing. My home body kids prefers it that way. .
So, Week #4 on campus in the books, (arrived on campus 08/16) so to speak. Theyâve had random COVID testings. Campus is closed to unscheduled visitors (pretty much) and theyâre pretty strict about gatherings. EVERYBODY is wearing masks and they do daily screenings. Seems to be working. Lots of folks predicted they wouldnât make it to week 3 and here we are, going into week 5. Good for them! Homecoming and Parents weekends are going virtual, but I plan to go up for one of those. I believe he can sign me in to campus or something like that. Whatever theyâre doing over there in Pittsburgh is working. Parents on the parents FB page complaining their kids donât have anything to do⊠socially speaking, though there ARE activities scheduled. My kid doesnât know any different and feels he has PLENTY to do. Perspective, I guess. Heâs happy on campus and that makes this Momma happy as well, though I miss him like crazy.
Point of Interest: The University left the decision to do online or in person classes and ALL the music instructors except one opted for in person. Almost all other courses at the university - Sciences, Business are mostly online. Yea for the Music School folks <3 Online only just wouldnât have worked for my kid.
@BenniesMom1 itâs like you are writing from another planet. My kidâs universityâs music building isnât even open! No performances for the 2020-21 school year. Classes almost entirely online etc.
Curious about the mats, and also how the roomsâ air is being cleaned for 15 minutes. What methods are they using?
WOW! Sorry to hear that the music building isnât open. At Duq, itâs definitely open and according to my kid, âa vibrant and bustling place with all music studentsâ (only ones , along with faculty, who are allowed IN during this time - specially coded entry IDs) .
Re: the air circulation cleaning thingy⊠In their document MPSOM in time of COVID, there is this statement
7. Efforts have been made over the summer to increase air exchange and improve filtering in the HVAC system in the MPSOM. Plexiglass has been added in the main office and can be made available inadditional areas to ensure social distancing, including but not limited to winds, brass, and vocal private instruction.
My son didnât go into detail but he says as soon as they leave, folks come in to clean and sanitize and there are sounds like a big air conditioner fan being kicked on. I need to ask him what exactly theyâre doing in there during those 20 mins but I believe they need to move along so the next group can come in, and theyâre not in the same space at the same time. So not really sure how this air is exchanged/cleared out but Iâll find out.
Re: the mats⊠from the way he described it, sounded like each musician has their little âpiece of carpetâ which is covered, cleaned and sanitized in between groups. All ensemble members bring their own stands to rehearsals ( no time to clean all stands, I guess) and the brass instruments are required to have bell covers which were provided.
Whatever works, is what I say. The students in the dorms are also put into R-pods so they hang with the same group of folks. All students in his R-pod are music majors so that kinda keep things contained on another level. They study, eat, sleep together, so to speak. Clearly itâs all working for now. Fingers crossed that they make it to Thanksgiving.
Nice they can play, and nice that they arenât alone in their rooms as some are. Fingers crossed for a continued good experience. (No need to investigate further. It sounds like they are using some sort of air conditioner or filter plus sanitizing and protecting floors from droplets with mats). Good luck to your son!
My D20 is also a clarinetist and she is home this semester, her SLAC conservatory did not open dorms. We set up a studio for her in our guest house and she is taking classes and her applied lessons over Zoom. Itâs going better than she expected, but I know sheâd still like to be on campus.
Meanwhile, our high school music program is all systems go (with social distancing and masks when not playing, of course). So far, so good. Itâs bizarre to have two completely different approaches!
What is MPSOM?