Things happened fast last week, and I so appreciate all of you for bearing with us as we cancelled classes and ensembles and switched to online lessons at the drop of a hat. I hope everyone is holding up as we navigate this brand new territory of social distancing. I’ve been learning more every day about our situation, and realize there’s so much that we still don’t know. However – one thing I’m convinced of is that making music can – and should – still go on. Our Italian friends are proof of this.
Those of you enrolled in individual lessons know that we had to switch over to online lessons as of Thursday (3/12). We’ve actually been planning and preparing to begin offering online lessons sometime down the road, and were caught by surprise like the rest of the world. Our faculty has stepped up, and should be in touch with you about how to virtually meet for your lessons for the next few weeks – or until it’s safe to resume in-person lessons.
There are a number of ways to connect for a lesson right now – Google Hangouts, Google Duo, Facetime, Zoom, and Skype are the best options that we know of. If you have a desktop with speakers, that’s the best setup, but we’ve had students connecting with their teachers via smartphones and it’s been working well. We would like you to attend your lesson – online – at your scheduled time this week. There will be no lessons during spring break week (unless you arrange to have an online makeup lesson during that time).
Continuity with practicing and keeping up with lessons can be a really good thing at this very unusual time. Our slogan at CMA lately has been “Make music, be happy.” Perhaps for now we’ll be saying some version of “Stay home, make music, stay healthy.”
We will let you know when it’s safe and acceptable to open the CMA again. As of now, we hope that will be mid-April, but we don’t know for sure. We will follow local government, health department, and school district guidelines for resuming in-person activities. If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Brace or myself. We’re both available by email, and you’re welcome to call me at 303-550-9875.