The Wanda L. Bass School of Music has plans to adapt the music ensembles this semester.
The music ensembles had planned on having a concert Sept.16, but the schedule has changed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Dr. Mark Belcik, associate dean of music, said the overwhelming reality of this year is that there will be no audiences for the concerts.
“Everything we do will either be virtual, livestreamed or recorded and depending on each individual ensemble and the size of the ensemble and the logistics, we are making decisions right now to decide whether the concerts will be livestreamed or recorded prior to the concert time and then played at the concert time,” Belcik said.
Belcik said things are very different this year, and the school is paying attention to all the research being done on bio-aerosols.
“All of our wind instruments produce aerosols, and there have been large studies, housed by the University of Colorado, on how to mitigate aerosols, whether it’s with a wind instrument, singing or acting,” Belcik said.
Belcik said the ensembles are smaller, rehearsals are shorter and everyone is spaced out and masked, following university regulations.
“We are using this time to play repertoire and pieces that we might not normally do and have different mixtures of instruments we might not normally do in normal circumstances, so this is giving us an opportunity to explore different music,” Belcik said.
Dr. Matthew Mailman, professor of conducting and music director of the wind ensemble, said the plan is to stream performances.
“It’s likely they will not be live, but pre-recorded and streamed at a certain time like a concert, but live performances have not been completely ruled out either,” Mailman said.
Mailman said the concert dates have not been released yet for this year.
“With all of the safety protocols to which we are adhering, which there are a lot, we did not accomplish quite as much as we had hoped to, but everything is flexible. We are giving our students a little bit more time,” Mailman said.
Mailman said the whole point of the new system this year is to be fluid and flexible. He said the success they have had so far has been the result of a collective effort from the faculty, staff and administrators.
“What we’re able to do with our instrumental ensembles is something that very few other universities are able to do. It’s a rare opportunity for our students to have this performing opportunity underneath the umbrella of very thorough and thought-out health/safety protocols,” Mailman said.
Mailman said the students are completely on board with the rules and regulations and process for the semester.
“They’re happy to be on campus and in person playing, and I have yet to hear a student complain about anything,” Mailman said.
Matthew Newsom, instrumental music education junior, said rehearsals have been going amazing for the wind philharmonic ensemble.
“I have absolutely loved what Dr. Mailman and Dr. Grogan have done with the ensembles during the pandemic,” Newsom said.
Newsom said in a short amount of time, they were able to build a completely new rehearsal schedule.
“They schedule ensembles around air filtration procedures and create and organize completely new small ensembles to fit occupancy limits, and so much more,” Newsom said.
Newsom said the school has done a great job with the process.
“They are still able to give us music that provides the support and quality education the music school has always provided,” Newsom said.
Mailman said he looks at the situation from the perspective of accomplishing what they can despite limitations.
“One of our mantras right now in the School of Music is focus on what we have right now and not what we’re missing, because what we have is so much better than so many other places and what they have, and for all we know we may not have it tomorrow,” Mailman said.
Mailman said the ensembles go into every rehearsal, class and lesson with the mindset that it could be the last time.
“It’s very inspiring and uplifting if you think about it like it’s not what we’re missing, and focus on what we actually have,” Mailman said.
To see the updates in the concert schedules, students can go to the ensemble’s page on the OCU website.
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