GHMS During COVID

Here’s where you’ll be able to find the latest news and updates about how Greenwich House Music School is being impacted by COVID-19.

Dear Music School Students and Families,

As we start to wrap up this school year, I want to say a hearty thank you for your commitment to our faculty and school with virtual music lessons and classes. I’m extremely proud of our faculty, and all of you, for gamely stepping into the unknown and continuing to accomplish your goals for the year. As anyone can see from our recent recitals, our students and faculty have shown incredible resiliency and progression, even with the unique challenges of studying from home.

I am very hopeful we can be together again this fall, and we are planning for a September 10, 2020 start date at the school. Our safety guidelines will be created from a variety of sources, including the City of New York, the Department of Education, the National Guild for Community Arts Education, and a task force of various stakeholders from Greenwich House.

Our building entry procedures will likely have multiple scenarios, which could include temperature checks, health questionnaires, and a limiting of the number of people in the building. All staff, faculty, students and guests in the building will be required to wear masks. Cleaning procedures will be enhanced due to on-going concerns about the Coronavirus, which will include the cleaning of pianos in between lessons, a physical separation of teacher and student in each studio, and a limit of 10 children per class. Brass, woodwind, and voice lessons and classes will most likely remain online, due to concerns of a higher risk of virus transmission. All ensemble classes will take place in our recital hall so everyone can spread out. Our recital hall will have a smaller audience capacity, but we are also planning to do live streaming of events and recitals.

These are just some of the procedures we imagine we’ll undertake and by no means a comprehensive list. Our task force will produce a complete guideline for our community which we can share with you this summer. In the meantime, please know we are looking at all reasonable options and ideas for the fall, and are working in the best interest for our faculty and students. We are trying to be comfortable with the uncertainty, and be nimble enough to recalibrate as new challenges arise. It is my hope we can have a successful year even with these new challenges, and our students will still be able to receive the exceptional instruction that we’ve historically always been able to provide.

Sincerely,

Rachel Black

Director

Greenwich House Music School