from the desk of the executive director
Bidding Farewell to the Year 2020 Laurie N. Fellenz, Executive Director
As one reflects on the past year, who could have imagined all
New Ways to Create Harmony
that has trans- pired in our state, country, and world during the past 12 months or that we all would begin 2021 still in the midst of a
pandemic. Yes, there are now vaccines in process and hope for a future where we can again congregate and create together both outdoors and indoors. Yet, we have come out of the last year changed in many ways because, as both people and music educa- tors, we have had to confront values and beliefs in our profession out of necessity.
In bidding farewell to 2020, it is fascinat- ing to look back over this past year at many shifts – strategies for music instruction statewide, safety protocols when students play or sing, complexities of scheduling through in-person, hybrid, or virtual learn- ing models, and approaches taken by our associations and foundation to serve music education in Wisconsin. There have been a fair share of complex and challenging patches, but what positive things have emerged from the turmoil that I predict may make music education stronger and safer moving forward?
Within weeks of the pandemic start, mu- sic educators began experimenting with new technologies; one in particular, the Acapella app, was popping up everywhere on social media. Our need to play with others and harmonize was still possible when using this technology, and there are some incredible musical products that demonstrated the ability of one person to lay down multiple tracks and still create. The “ensemble partners” now became “extension of self,” but there were new technology skills to learn and others to refine in order to create products that still had impeccable intonation, balance and a hint of dynamics. As time progressed, even over the months between March and December, many of our friends learned more about microphones and other apps that would allow for people to work to- gether to create virtual ensemble record- ings. We even held the first-ever virtual ensemble performance for the 2020 High School State Honors Music Project. So many more music educators have ramped up their own tech skills and knowledge and this will serve us all well moving into the future.
“So many more music educators have ramped up their own tech skills and knowledge and this will serve us all well moving into the future.”
Safe Practices When Playing and Singing
During spring 2020, a number of per- forming arts organizations joined forces to commission a study on the effects of COVID-19 to better understand what risks exist in performing arts classrooms and performance venues and determine mitigation strategies that significantly lessen risk of virus transmission. Specifi- cally, the study has examined aerosol rates produced by wind instrumentalists and vocalists and how quickly those aerosol rates accumulate in a space. Essentially,
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January 2021
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