My son’s school sent an email yesterday. There is a new site for students / parents to write feedback / ideas. They would like to hear voices and ideas from all parties for their decision making process. I, as a parent wrote this:
Music performance major really needs in-person classes and ensemble trainings. If conservatory is required to reduce student number on campus (on-campus housing / off-campus housing) at once to provide in-person classes in fall semester, how about separating all students into two groups by ensembles? First group of ensembles to go to the campus to receive ‘intensive” in-person ensemble trainings while taking a online-able semester-long classes as well and the other group of ensembles taking all online classes. Then, at half of semester, first group of ensembles leave the campus and second group of ensembles to go to the campus to receive “intensive” in-person ensemble trainings. All students take some online-able, semester-long classes.
With this 1/2+1/2 idea, VP, classical, orchestral, theater, jazz and dance, and off course, composition and other programs, all can participate in-person classes together as an ensemble(s) / program. School can reduce students (and faculty) to 1/2 at the time, in-campus housing can be all single rooms or fewer double rooms with some quarantine-ready rooms. Cafeteria would be less crowded. Less travels (drive or flight) for students (traveling is risky: catching or spreading the virus). School would lose 1/2 revenue for room & board in fall semester (like they did this semester) but I can imagine, at least no one would ask “tuition discount” or not too many students request “gap / defer year or semester”. If there is no outbreak in fall semester and the campus area seems controlling the virus well, 2021 semester can go back to normal or continue to be 1/2+1/2.
We all need to live with this virus much longer than we hope. We just need to know our own risks and decide. Those music schools are full of droplets…Facial covering requirements just wouldn’t work for most musicians / teachers. So, we just need to enforce “social distance”.
Oh my gosh - music schools and “droplets”. I had a sudden vision of horn and other brass players emptying their spit valves and woodwinds with swabs that they are shaking out! I hadn’t thought of that before!!!
Any woodwind or brass parents out there? How is this being handled??
The article is a summary of a video put out by NATS about this. It’s called “what do science and data say about the near term future of singing.” I’m not sure I can post a link but it’s easily found.
I’m very concerned how this will impact my son’s coursework and ensembles in the fall, among other things.
I really feel for the schools. I know that they’re doing the best that they can under the circumstances, and with little or no real knowledge about what the future looks like it’s like dancing at the edge of a precipice with their eyes closed.
As for us, my son is taking (as I’ve mentioned somewhere here earlier) a few core classes online over the summer–classes that don’t require one -on-one, in person work with professors and other students in order to be truly worthwhile. If Berklee is still online-only in the fall, he may take a couple of other, similar-type classes, but we will wait until campus is fully open before he goes back full-time. @JeJeJe , your ideas sound like good ones. I just hope that all of that can be organized before the semester begins–it does sound complicated! But then the whole thing is complicated, so creative solutions like yours are much-needed.
I’m conflicted about tuition reduction for online classes, if there are no other alternatives. For this past spring, it would seem really unfair to me to ask the schools to refund any tuition costs. They were doing the best they could, with almost no time to prepare. They’re not responsible for the situation, and I would hate to see some of them not be able to survive the crisis financially by losing even more income. I kind of feel that we have a responsibility to them as well (although I certainly understand the financial sacrifices families are also making to ensure that their children are getting a great musical education).
As for future semesters, I’m still not sure about that aspect, and I’m still torn. All I know is that my son wanted to attend Berklee for years, and now that he’s finally there I want him to have the benefit of the full experience, at least for the really music-intensive classes. But I don’t want Berklee to go broke, either (I’m sure they’re better off financially than some other schools, but still…). Berklee has been the place that has given my son the opportunity to blossom more than any other time in his life, and that means a lot. I’m sure that there are many other students in the pipeline who will feel the same way.
It’s not fun, but we can deal with the inconveniences necessary to keep ourselves and others as safe as possible during this lousy time. It’s just all the uncertainty that’s making me crazy, and I’m sure that the schools–and almost everyone else–feel the same way!
@Parentof2014grad I posted a separate thread on that topic. It is thought provoking and highly distressing. We are concerned that an 18 month time frame for suspension of performances means a MM in VP/Opera will not be tenable. Now what?
Note that in the presentation by NATS, there was a slide saying that along with screening for virus (temp checks, antibody test) “acceptance of risk by the performer, the group, and the sponsor is critical to resumption of ensemble practice and performance”. This is something we need to wrestle with. How much risk are our kids willing to accept in order to get back to performing?
Vocal performance, woodwinds and brass would all seem to be problematic in terms of droplets (and worse).
The 1/2 and 1/2 idea is interesting but still might not afford the necessary distancing. Maybe if testing and contact tracing are stepped up, things might be possible.
In my experience, online classes actually cost more due to tech fees.
@JeJeJe I like your ideas. It’s going to take lots of people “thinking outside the box” to come up with a scenario that will work. The more ideas that help everyone look at the situation from different angles, the better!
“Note that in the presentation by NATS, there was a slide saying that along with screening for virus (temp checks, antibody test) “acceptance of risk by the performer, the group, and the sponsor is critical to resumption of ensemble practice and performance”. This is something we need to wrestle with. How much risk are our kids willing to accept in order to get back to performing?”
Actually I think young musicians are willing to put up with the risk, as they are less likely to get very ill. I think the issue is going to be everyone else: the teacher, the accompanist, the stage director, the conductor; people with potentially more risk due to age and underlying conditions. If they can figure out a way to protect those people, I suspect many of the young are willing to take some risk.
@vistajay , (VERY) unfortunately there are now increasing reports of younger people getting very ill from complications related to the virus. I hate to be a downer on this, as I know how much it means to these young musicians, and how much the world needs them. But I don’t think that they can be as confident about the lack of risk as they would have been a week or two ago. And I am SO sorry (and frightened, although my son usually plays piano and guitar, but sings “for fun” as well) that this is now the case. I was already annoyed at how some people seem to think that older people (who actually do still have people who love them, and have some things they’d like to do in their lives as well) are somehow more expendable. Of course, if I had a choice to make between a young person’s life (especially, of course, my son’s) and mine, I would hope that I would give the benefit to someone young who hasn’t had the opportunities I’ve had over the past 58 years!
Some young people in music have chronic conditions. I would not assume low risk for young people.
More schools seem to be saying now that they will do a hybrid program in the fall. Students can choose whether to be on campus (I imagine there is liability otherwise) and large classes will be remote. There is a possibility of small classes meeting and in person meetings if small.
As for music, we are envisioning concerts of small ensembles, with whatever protection possible, without audiences, perhaps livestreamed. Worst case scenario would be performances from home, with click track, then posted online.
Lessons can still be virtual if needed.
A lot of bright minds working on this so I am feeling a little more hopeful.
Not sure for singers, but it seems there may be some solutions there too.
After safety concerns, which are hard for some to give up, the question comes down to whether to spend the money for undergrad (or use the grad funding) for these less than optimal experiences.
Maybe I’m having another Polyanna day or maybe expectations are changing.
I have been following this discussion with interest as my D is a sophomore - whoops, now junior, how did that happen? - MT BFA and we are, of course, very interested in how schools will manage in person classes in the Fall.
If you look at the CDC data for people in our kids’ age group you will notice that this virus has a lower mortality rate than many existing communicable diseases, including flu. That’s important when you consider the risk/reward of attending school. As mentioned above the people who are truly at higher risk than before with schools reopening are the school employees. I would be happy to sign a “release” for my D’s exposure to covid-19 at school but I have to hope schools are not primarily focusing on student health risk but on community health risks.
I have heard from a friend who works in a private university that they are planning ahead not one semester but years. So the dilemma of exposure / in person training is one we will deal with until a. There’s a vaccine, b. The pandemic abates (202?) or each of our kids has already been exposed and recovered (assuming immunity lasts, sigh). There will be no easy solutions but we as parents and our kids as musicians will need to accept some reduction in what used to be “normal” face to face training and performing just as the schools will need to accept a lot of new constraints on what they can offer their students.
You can type your school into the search engine. This was updated as of yesterday:
70% of schools are looking to open on campus.
Most ivies or schools with large endowments that don’t rely on room and board to survive will probs go remote. It’s interesting to me that NYU is saying it will open. Boston schools were supposedly making a “group decision” but you can see that Northeastern and BU are a “go” but BC and Harvard (of course) are possible remote. Berklee/Boco is 3 blocks from Northeastern so fingers crossed they open.
This is a very interesting article from U Miami. Lots of concrete info on how life at college will change. I am impressed that this school is already so far in planning and I hope their plans will help other schools who may be lagging. UM’s president is an expert in public health, which helps!
Article on how musicians with a patchwork of income don’t fit into the mold for unemployment, info on the CARES Act and Pandemic assistance, and other resources for musicians out of work. I know CC is mainly for students but thought folks might be interested.
ps it mentions that string players and percussionists can wear masks and may be better off, something discussed on this forum
@2427mom, I could make a prediction that America will face a dark winter if 70% of schools DO NOT open this fall. But I won’t, because neither of these predictions is helpful in any way, and both are baseless. We’ve all been keeping up with the news and trying to differentiate the facts vs. the demagoguery. I do hope that the schools and governments in every location are making decisions based on actual data and proven science; and that they are considering smart and valuable alternatives to traditional teaching / living arrangements with a healthy dose of courage to manage some level of risk.
We just received word from NEC that they are a go for back on campus. Another consideration is school size. Possibly smaller schools have smaller population to manage. Regardless, Mass. has mandates about what has to be in place for their schools to reopen.
"For the last several weeks, we have been engaged in a rigorous planning process for the resumption of teaching and learning in the fall, shaped by several key objectives:
Protecting the health, wellness, and safety of our community;
Ensuring an exceptional educational experience for all students;
Creating robust musical and performance experiences for students;
Stewarding and positioning NEC well for the future.
Within this context, we plan to resume in-person teaching, learning, and performance in the fall, supported by new approaches to technologically-enabled instruction. In addition to enriching student learning, this hybrid approach will provide agency and flexibility for both students and faculty, as well as accommodate the social distancing practices important to ensuring a healthy environment. We are also working towards a more nimble organization of the semester that maximizes our time together for in-person lessons, ensembles, performances, and other performance-based courses.
With regard to student housing, we are planning to open NEC’s residential facilities, as well as our dining services, with provisions to reduce density and create a safe and supportive environment for all.
We are buoyed by our planning to come together in the fall, even whilst recognizing that many details and questions remain. We will be in touch with further information in mid-June as planning continues, with more specific detail in early July. "
