Creative Arts Center | Photo by Cheyenne Waddell | Edited by Jessica Fugett | The Wright State Guardian
In a time when most of campus life has gone virtual, the Wright State University (WSU) School of Music is going above and beyond to remain active in their performances while keeping the health and safety of students and faculty involved a top priority.
Since the start of the coronavirus in March, university music programs across the nation have had to scramble to decide how they will proceed with practices, performances and their weekly one-on-one sessions between professor and student.
“When we were first faced with the reality of what the fall semester would be, I started meeting with the Ohio Federation of Chairs of Schools of Music and we started having meetings every other Monday,” Said WSU School of Music Chair Dr. Dan Zehringer. “I started to get a feel for what other universities were doing, and it was really the wild wild west.”
Where do we go from here?
Some universities throughout the state were imposing pressure on music Chairs to keep ensembles in place.
“These were mainly schools with marching bands, which is something that we don’t have to deal with here at WSU,” Zehringer said.
Zehringer says he is thankful that WSU didn’t apply the same pressure upon him that some of his colleagues from other universities have had to endure.
“Thankfully Wright State didn’t impose any pressure on me and let me handle the situation on my own. As the summer progressed, we got more and more feedback from national studies that were carried out on orchestral instruments and singing as well,” Zehringer said.
These studies prompted universities across Ohio to find ways to have students practice and perform during unprecedented times.
While some schools chose to make use of large, outdoor tents to hold rehearsals and practices in a safer environment, Zehringer didn’t see this as a viable option for WSU, as the cost of rental and Ohio’s notorious inclement weather patterns in the latter part of the year would render these tents unusable anyway.
“Our largest groups are not practicing or rehearsing in person at all right now, as these can be ensembles of 40-50 pieces. Unfortunately, there is no way for us to fit all of these people in a space safely so it’s not worth the risk at this moment,” Zehringer said.
Utilizing WSU’s 8 large practice spaces within the Creative Arts Center, masked, socially distanced practices have been able to take place for certain ensembles. Men’s and Women’s chorus, operating at a significantly lower capacity than normal this year, have been able to safely practice and remain active during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as stringed orchestra ensembles.
Additionally, both of WSU’s full-size orchestras are operating with string-only instruments this fall and likely into the spring, while also remaining socially distanced and masked.
Opportunity to perform
WSU Chamber Orchestra Director Dr. Jackson Leung is looking forward to Oct. 6, as the orchestra will be performing live in the Student Union atrium at 3:30 p.m.
“CDC precautions such as social distancing and mask wearing will be required, but we are encouraging students in the atrium and those in the area to come watch and listen to our performance,” Leung said.
Leung highlighted one piece in particular that the orchestra will be performing, called “Lyric for Strength” written by George Walker; the first African-American composer to have won a Pulitzer prize in music.
“With all of the social justice and civil rights movements going on in the world right now this is a really meaningful piece to us,” Leung said.
A lover of live performances and former WSU student Chad Stapp of Huber Heights is looking forward to the performance on Oct. 6, as he says he will be attending the performance with his friend who lives on campus.
“I was supposed to attend 3 or 4 concerts this past summer with my friends and everything got cancelled due to the coronavirus,” Stapp said. “Now I have the opportunity to visit my friends on campus and go see a live performance too so I can’t pass that opportunity up.”
Whether you’re passing through the atrium and stop for a few moments, or show up for the entire performance, the WSU Chamber Orchestra will be performing for all of those in attendance.
