CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When 50 members of the Marching Illini performed together Oct. 30 at a socially distanced centennial concert for the Altgeld Chimes at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, it was one of the only times they’ll play in person this fall.
The Marching Illini has been replaced on football game days with cardboard cutouts of its members filling the band’s seats in the north end zone of Memorial Stadium, with a video of the band performing shown on the scoreboard.
Marching band performances and competitions have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. But even though the Marching Illini won’t be performing, band director Barry Houser is providing guidance in Illinois and nationally on how schools can safely go forward with music activities – not just marching bands, but also concert bands, choruses and other music classes.
“It’s our responsibility to educate our public officials and those who are in decision-making positions on what music educators can do safely in classrooms around the country. The information based on current research allows us to be much safer at all levels of education,” he said.
Houser helped develop guidelines for the Illinois Department of Public Health for playing instruments and singing. Early recommendations for social distancing and sanitizing surfaces between groups of students using a music room were not enough, Houser said.
“Aerosol particles are produced by the playing of instruments and singing, and have become an area of concern with regard to COVID-19. We have had to find ways to help mitigate the dispersal of these particles through specific musician masks and bell covers for instruments,” he said.
Houser is the chair of the athletic bands committee for the College Band Directors National Association. That organization commissioned a study of the aerosols produced by wind instruments and singing. The aerosol study, conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder and the University of Maryland, included trials of different instruments played with and without masks and bell covers. Preliminary results indicate that masks help mitigate the spread of aerosols, as do bell covers when used with aerosol-producing instruments.
“All of these layers of masks, bell covers, staying 6 feet apart and limited rehearsal times are helping to mitigate the aerosol particles being dispersed into the air. The research indicating we can reduce the spread of aerosols is big news to help keep music classes and rehearsals open throughout the country,” Houser said.
Among the recommended measures he helped develop for IDPH are: social distancing of 6 feet between singers or instrumentalists, and 9 feet for those playing trombones; wearing masks while singing or playing an instrument; bell covers on all aerosol-producing instruments; keeping a cohort of the same students and staff together for all rehearsals; limiting rehearsals to 30 minutes with a maximum of 50 people; a preference for outdoor over indoor rehearsals; and allowing for at least one air exchange (a measure of how much air in a room is replaced every hour) between indoor rehearsals.
“I feel very good about what we have done. It’s allowed us to stay engaged with our students as well as be proactive with our students,” Houser said. “With the new music guidelines from IDPH, we’ve heard great news from so many music educators across the state. They’ve been able to move their programs from virtual formats to more face-to-face classes. The fact that we’ve been able to do this on a local level is a huge win for music education.”
The recommendation for wearing a mask was a challenge for brass and woodwind players. There were no masks designed for the playing of an instrument, so some students were cutting slits into paper masks, Houser said.
“That’s not necessarily the most sustainable or safest way to find a solution. If you cut the slit too wide, there’s still a chance for the particles to escape,” he said.
So he designed a custom face covering for musicians: a gaiter with a slit for a variety of mouthpieces to fit. The fabric around the mouthpiece has flexibility so it is form-fitting, and there is an extra layer of fabric around the mouth. The face covering is universal and can be used with any wind instrument.
Houser worked with a screen-printing shop to make the face coverings. All Marching Illini members have one, as well as other musicians in the School of Music.
Houser recently conducted a webinar on safety guidelines for conducting ensembles during the winter. He created an Illinois Band Directors Facebook group with more than 1,100 members who discuss a variety of topics, but primarily issues related to COVID-19.
Currently, university marching bands are meeting in a variety of ways, depending on the guidelines of their states, Houser said. Some are rehearsing together with safety precautions in place, and some are not meeting at all. The Marching Illini has been meeting on Zoom and conducting only remote rehearsals.
“Part of our challenge is the limit of 50 people or fewer within our state. When you have a group consisting of almost 400, how do you make that work?” Houser said.
Houser emphasized that research is ongoing on the safety of playing instruments in a group, and the guidelines could change. However, he said, “it doesn’t mean we have to shut everything down. We can continue to move forward and conduct instruction and rehearsals safely.”