A safe return to music making
This page is a resource for College of Music students, parents, faculty, staff and community supporters as we plan a return of academic and artistic excellence to the halls of Imig Music Building during the Fall 2020 semester.
In alignment with the University of Colorado Boulder's guidelines and informed by numerous conversations with college faculty and staff, provisional plans for studio, ensemble and classroom instruction are outlined below in three broad categories: campus-, college- and area-specific protocols.
Campus-wide protocols
- The class schedule has been extended to Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. to reduce campus density and increase the time between classes.
- A first-year living and learning cohort model will be implemented.
- Faculty are expected to participate in those instructional activities determined to be in person by the unit, unless they are at risk for illness.
- University Libraries has stated that all course reserves must be online.
- All faculty, staff and students must complete the university’s COVID-19 training and must wear masks on campus. The College of Music will make special accommodations for applied brass, woodwind and voice lessons; ensembles involving brass, woodwinds and singers; and other related coursework.
Fall 2020 calendar
Monday, Aug. 24: First day of classes
Wednesday, Nov. 25: Last day of in-person classes
Thursday, Nov. 26-Sunday, Nov. 29: Fall break
Monday, Nov. 30-Monday, Dec. 7: Remote-only instruction
Tuesday, Dec. 8: Reading day
Wednesday, Dec. 9-Sunday, Dec. 13: Final exams (remotely)
Note: Faculty may give in-person exams during regular class times before Fall Break, if necessary.
Other resources
College protocols
Academics
Classes and coursework, applied lessons, graduate exams, juries, studio classes
Rehearsal and performance
Practice rooms, public events, student recitals
General operations
First-year cohorts, technology and equipment, building safety measures
Area-specific protocols
The Brass and Percussion area is considering proposals for Fall 2020 instruction. Please check back soon for more information.
- Each performance area, in consultation with the college’s chamber music coordinator, will explore a streamlined approach to chamber music instruction that establishes the right balance of mixed and like-instrument ensembles, with encouragement to make use of technologies such as JamKazam and Zoom that support virtual collaborations and score study sessions. Note: “Mixed” here means within—not across—areas. For example, mixed woodwinds but not mixed woodwinds and strings.
- Students needing chamber music credit will be prioritized in chamber music assignments this fall.
The Chamber Music Program is considering additional proposals for Fall 2020 instruction. Please check back soon for more information.
- A hybrid experience with small chamber choirs that feature in-person socially distanced rehearsals and remote lectures that work toward recorded performances is being planned.
Our Choral Ensembles are considering additional proposals for Fall 2020 instruction. Please check back soon for more information.
Composition lessons will be delivered remotely to ensure adequate distancing.
- There will be safe, in-person ensemble activities to ensure a musically rigorous experience at the College of Music this fall. After measuring the college’s ensemble rehearsal rooms for appropriate social distancing, it has been determined that small conducted ensembles may safely proceed. The college continues to monitor ongoing studies related to the movement of musicians’ breath and the dispersal of droplets while performing. Special measures, including the use of protective shields and regular sanitization of rehearsal and performance spaces, will complement social distancing practices. The university has also certified that the HVAC system in the Imig Music Building provides sufficient air ventilation and CDC-approved levels of flitration.
- In-person, small chamber orchestras along with wind and jazz ensembles are being planned to ensure that students will be able to engage with appropriate repertoire in a meaningful and safe way. Small pep bands will perform at home football games (if they occur) from the stands while observing social distancing practices.
Our Instrumental Ensembles are considering additional proposals for Fall 2020 instruction. Please check back soon for more information.
The Thompson Jazz Studies Program is considering proposals for Fall 2020 instruction. Please check back soon for more information.
- Music Education area courses for Fall 2020 will vary in format depending on the size and nature of the course, and instructors will share specific information at the start of each course.
- Most classes will involve a hybrid mix of in person and online instruction, to preserve the experiential components of practice teaching and acquiring specific skills like secondary instruments while maximizing social distancing.
- Some courses, such as small seminars, may continue to be held in person.
- Student teacher seminar will be fully online to limit cross-contact with individuals involved in close work with K-12 students, but student teachers can expect to be involved in in-person and remote instruction per the plans established by their assigned school districts. We are awaiting guidance on structuring practicum experiences in K-12 schools for classes with a field component prior to student teaching and we will distribute updates when more information is known.
The Music Education area is considering proposals for Fall 2020 instruction. Please check back soon for more information.
- Keyboard majors
- Keyboard majors' personal access to a piano or high-quality electronic keyboard will facilitate instructional options in the fall. Additional college-purchased keyboards, if funding allows, will complement the use of practice rooms under established safety protocols.
- Keyboard lab classes
- Keyboard teaching assistants are planning to create instructional videos to support students through each two-week rotational cycle.
- Non-music-major keyboard lab classes will be offered completely by remote means.
- A signup process for practice in the keyboard lab will be established.
- Non-music majors enrolled in keyboard lab classes will be asked to provide their own digital piano/keyboard. The minimum requirement is: full-size keys, touch-sensitive, at least 61 keys and MIDI-capable. Examples of the most basic models are Casio CTK 3500 and Yamaha PSR-E363. A few loaner keyboards may be available for students unable to provide their own.
- Youth Piano Program
- All Youth Piano Program applied lessons will be conducted remotely.
The Roser Piano and Keyboard Program is considering additional proposals for Fall 2020 instruction. Please check back soon for more information.
The Strings area is considering proposals for Fall 2020 instruction. Please check back soon for more information.
- Voice majors
- Diction, vocal repertoire, vocal literature, opera for pianists and Opera Theatre classes will be taught using a hybrid instructional model.
- Applied lessons, Musical Theatre practicum and Opera Practicum will be held in-person, unless dictated otherwise by specific health issues.
- Opera and Musical Theatre performance
- With an emphasis on maintaining high artistic standards, planning is underway to consider potential alternate performance venues and the use of technology in opera and musical theatre studies this fall. With several arrangements of Humperdinck’s "Hansel and Gretel" available, the opera ensemble size will be determined by room availability and social distancing guidelines.
The Voice and Opera area is considering additional proposals for Fall 2020 instruction. Please check back soon for more information.
- The woodwind chamber music literature course will be taught remotely.
The Woodwind area is considering additional proposals for Fall 2020 instruction. Please check back soon for more information.
- ECM and arts administration courses will be taught through remote and hybrid means.
- Career Launchpad workshops/seminars will be delivered remotely and posted on the ECM Canvas.
- Career advising appointments with the area will be scheduled as needed by email.
- The Musicians' Wellness Program is planning a setting more conducive to general wellness, with Alexander Technique and body-mapping coursework remaining key elements to the program. Asynchronous wellness content will be developed. A hybrid instructional model will be used throughout Fall 2020.
The program is considering additional proposals for Fall 2020 instruction. Please check back soon for more information.
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Need more help?
For campus technology issues or concerns, call the Office of Information Technology at 303-735-4357 (5-HELP).
For health questions, contact your health care provider or Medical Services at 303-492-5101 (24/7 nurse line available) for advice and recommendations.
For mental health questions or concerns, call Counseling and Psychiatric Services at 303-492-2277 (24/7 support available).
For faculty and staff, call Faculty and Staff Assistance Program at 303-492-3020.