Just watched a video of a Handel aria with everyone playing in their own homes, the singer in the middle of the screen. Some had headphones. The quality was high and I can actually see musicians better than in a concert hall. I also watched a livestream from Berlin. Certainly there are challenges (is everyone using a click track?) and some music does not translate well to this medium, but overall I see glimmers of hope until COVID is somehow vanquished. Just wanted to post this because we all keep saying it is different for singers. I also think that once performances are live with strings and piano, prerecorded voice and wind could be included. Not the same for performers but the audience could still benefit. And it could still be for credit, for students, or pay, for professionals. There is a lot of creative brainstorming going on.
Sorry if this is a tangent. If the room and board issues could be resolved, though, I do think that conservatories could continue this year for everyone, even if some musicians are limited to being filmed and put online or added to a live performance. Or they could offer at least some benefit with students staying home. The problem there is the financial health of the schools.
Yes - Click tracks are big these day. Also, lots of mixing going on. Anyone’s kid in Music Tech??
I am aware of professional groups re-programming for smaller groups of instruments, shorter concerts so there aren’t bathroom breaks with long lines and disinfecting required, soloists contracts being changed so that the full concerto they were contracted for will be replaced. There is a lot of discussion going on across the professional arts continuum.
For students, I am feeling more confident that performing groups could be managed in the short term. Still hoping for that vaccine, but I think I am seeing some light - not quite the dark tunnel that first began to emerge.
If a delay for conservatory is possible, I also think that could be a good solution - if the student has access to a fine home instructor. Having an extra year of practice under the belt is not necessarily a bad thing. I know an unplanned disruption is hard to accept from the students’ point of view - they want to move on and college/conservatory was a huge step. In the end, however, one year won’t make much difference as long as individual progress can continue. (I have known quite successful musicians who had to take breaks for tendonitis, illnesses, etc during their conservatory years - didn’t have a detrimental impact in the end.)
One full year of no instructions (or performances) would be sure a set back for musicians. But many musicians can maintain their passion and work toward to their goal. It is just hard for musicians, not being able to perform with other musicians…My son is jazz performance major. He seems working more on composing lately. Well, he maybe finding to continue music in less-performing direction at least in the mean time. He also sounds like playing in other musicians’ collaboration video projects. As a restriction gets milder to reopen, especially in outdoor around our area, he and a few of his friends (all music major) can practice and perform as a small jazz combo together in a big grassy park keeping social distance. It isn’t same as a “stage performance” but they did once. People who walked / biked around a park gave them tips unexpectedly. People want to hear live music, too!!!
In this pandemic, for all conservatories / colleges to give all students a gap year / LOA option due to any Covid related reasons (health, financial, travel / visa issues, all online classes, etc) is right thing to do. Schools are losing revenue but if they can’t promise safety of students and faculty, with considering surrounding areas, they just have to. Some students cannot take a health risk, international students may not be able to travel to / from U.S. on time and some (or many) families cannot pay tuition bills unless schools guarantee to meet their need in this particularly difficult time. Some colleges (not conservatory) that announced accepting LOA requests already said that there are no guarantee to have a spot for a student who takes a LOA and wants to enroll back in 2021-2022. It sounds fair for students who are applying for 2021-2022.
Did any conservatories / music schools say “NO” to a gap year / LOA requests for Covid-19 related issues for 2020-2021?
The financial consequences for schools seem dire. But there are liability concerns in staying open, and also in going online apparently, since some are suing for refunds. Classic rock and a hard place.
It seems that some schools are going hybrid and giving students options. If students and families make the choice among those options offered, then there is less liability I would think.
Wow - so many great ideas and research going on. We didn’t even think about deferring, maybe because a) NEC is going back in fall, and b) S is a composer.
As for a gap year - my S did one (not by choice) and it turned out to be an amazing and productive year for him. I get the angst about the conservatory experience, performing, etc. but think that with a great private teacher (which he had) and college level course it can be great. He didn’t go to CC he went instead to a local state college with an excellent Music department (Wells School of Music at WCU). He was able as a non-degree continuing ed student to take most of the classes a music freshman would take at conservatory (he didn’t take a full load) - he took Music Theory 1 and 2, Music History 1 and 2, Aural Studies 1, Conducting 1. We researched it carefully to see if the curriculum would cover what he needed and because it’s a full college not CC some credits will transfer and he’ll be able to place out of some theory and all aural and conducting.
Interestingly Peabody did consider him a transfer student but NEC is taking him as Freshman and gave him a merit scholarship.
Also it really prepared him for the pace, level and schedule of real college - dealing with getting books, permits, ids, a meal plan, etc. and dealing with professors, and other music students - he grew so much and is really ready for college now.
BTW his private teacher teaches at Curtis and helped him put together his prescreen recordings, etc.
My thought was that a composer or a musician (unlike a physical athlete where age is a bigger factor) will always be that and it’s a continuous path of learning, growth throughout their path in their chosen vocation.
If you have the option and can’t do the conservatory or want to wait and have top notch options (I’d say Juilliard pre-college and Lincoln center Jazz are definitely that!!!) a year before going away from home can be an amazing experience. Also, they can take care of an more general ed/writing intensive, etc. type of classes.
Just our experience. Good luck to all and appreciating all the threads for my S.
@ClassCompMom just fyi many students choose to start at the beginning of the theory sequence regardless of previous experience, because every school teaches it a little differently.
My perception is that restrictions on composers due to COVID may be among the hardest, so I am curious why you wrote that composers have less need to defer. Genuinely curious. My perception is that composers often learn through collaborative processes, working with instruments and instrumentalists, and their physical presence during the creation of works is important. As well as rehearsals and performances. And they may intersect with tech production people, lighting or set designers, and others. Perhaps this depends on the process of the particular composer, and the type of work.
I just read that USC is opening, with some classes still online and distancing provided in dorms and classes.
@compmom I didn’t mean that composers have less need to defer, I was sharing my S experience - admittedly before COVID. His virtual experience was awful - he is NOT a virtual learner. His conducting final was interesting - now there’s an area that suffers from virtual.
My point was more about some students finding an extra year between HS and conservatory or college beneficial and productive. A year in which they can grow as a student, musician/composer and person. My attempt at presenting a silver lining obviously fell short.
@ClassCompMom --yeah, my son ended up withdrawing from his Berklee conducting class once it went virtual. Not the professor’s fault–it just wasn’t really working out, unsurprisingly.
My kid did a gap year this year, so that isn’t an option for us. He will so whatever his school, Berklee, decides. I’m betting they will be online. I’m curious as to what NECs plan is. Maybe they have more physical space than Berklee so they can separate the kids more? But that discussion is for the other thread I guess.
@raincat here is an email from NEC, posted on the other thread. Maybe you have seen it. I asked about how they are going to “reduce density” in dorms, but haven’t heard.
From NEC:
"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. "
@raincat and @compmom NEC hasn’t released its housing plans yet. True they house a much smaller population than Berklee. My S’s friend attends Berklee so if I hear anything from her I’ll share it. The theory rolling out is that NEC will remove their 2 year requirement for on campus housing and house all the freshman in single rooms with leftovers for sophomores, etc. as space allows - maybe with a lottery? But nothing official yet.
@compmom and @ClassCompMom thanks for the information. We are anxiously waiting for the decision of Berklee. We know every school and different considerations and limitations, glad at least some conservatories are opening for fall.
@raincat , did you get this email from Berklee? I’m really glad that they seem to be taking their time about making decisions, and thinking it through. It still seems early to me for schools to be making decisions about what they’ll be doing in the fall (although, of course, we are anxious to know as well!):
"Dear Berklee families,
I would like to invite you to join us on Thursday, June 11, for an important symposium about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, featuring experts from the fields of medicine, biotechnology, and higher education. This discussion will explore the current state of vaccine development, testing and social distancing procedures, and therapeutics, with a focus on how these and other considerations inform decisions about Berklee’s fall semester.
Coronavirus: Vaccine Development, Testing, Therapeutics, and Fall Plans for Berklee
Date: Thursday, June 11
Time: 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom webinar
Things are going to level 2 for reopening in Massachusetts, which brings uncertainty. And there have been a lot of protests, many in masks but not all, and with a lot of chanting and yelling. Lots of new risks. I am surprised that any schools are disclosing plans as yet, given the circumstances.
I just read a good article on how we should all be trying to find things that are positive about online education versus in-residence, rather than focusing on the negatives. Unfortunately this is harder to do in music performance.
My son’s college is still planning to open in fall with knowing it is aggressive. Their final decision may not come out until July. However, his college mentioned that some classes / programs which aren’t remote-able would have some priority to receive in-person as I read and “performance” is one of those.
I get it.