Unprecedented International Coalition led by Performing Arts Organizations to Commission COVID-19 Study
By Chairs, Mark Spede (CBDNA) and James Weaver (NFHS) on October 20, 2020 music directors & adjudicators article Print8/17 Update:
Disclaimer: All information provided through the study is to be used strictly for general consideration. This information will be updated when it becomes available, please share the link to this webpage instead of the individual documents.
2nd Release of Preliminary Results were shared August 6th
Preliminary results for woodwinds and brass were released July 13th
*Have a question? Want to leave a comment? Please visit the FAQ page*
A number of performing arts organizations have joined forces to commission a study on the effects of COVID-19 on the return to the rehearsal hall. It is important to understand what risks exist in performing arts classrooms and performance venues. Specifically, the study will examine aerosol rates produced by wind instrumentalists, vocalists, and even actors, and how quickly those aerosol rates accumulate in a space. Although not yet proven, strong anecdotal evidence suggests that the COVID-19 virus can travel in the microscopic droplets expelled from a person with the virus, even when asymptomatic. The only way to determine what risk level exists or to create best practices for reducing infection risk is to understand how aerosol disbursement works in a performing arts setting.
Once the aerosol rates are better understood, the study will focus on remediation of aerosols in confined spaces like rehearsal rooms (both educational and professional), classrooms, and performance settings in order to develop better understanding, policy, and practice for a safe returning to performance and education.
Dr. Shelly Miller at the University of Colorado will lead the scientific study and says, “Aerosol generating activities have the potential to transmit COVID as the research shows, but we have very little data on what kinds of generation happen when playing instruments. We will be studying this phenomenon (hopefully with funding) in our aerosol laboratory at the University of Colorado Boulder and with this data, will be able to provide better evidence-based guidance.”
Several national and international performing arts education organizations are combining resources to study the effects of COVID-19 aerosol transmission in performing arts performance settings. The study is a massive undertaking that will require a focused effort from all of us. This effort will be a duplicated study and will test how aerosols can spread from brass and woodwind instruments, the four vocal ranges, theatrical speech, and aerobic breathing. We are calling on any performing arts educational organization to join our research council. Your organizational support is the most important. Together we can create scientifically proven methods for our return to performing arts education in a safe way with research showing us best practices and advocacy.
Please remit your check made payable to the NFHS with “COVID-19 aerosol research study” in the memo line. Please mail to:
NFHS
PO Box 690
Indianapolis, IN 46206
The coalition is being led by a committee made up of the following:
Co-Chairs
-Mark Spede, President of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) and Director of Bands, Clemson University
-James Weaver, Director of Performing Arts and Sports, National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
The organizations in the coalition to date include:
*College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA)
*National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM)
*National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
*D’Addario Foundation
*Alabama Music Educators Association
*American Choral Directors Association (ACDA)
*American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA)
American String Teachers Association (ASTA)
*Arts Ed NJ
Arts Education in Maryland Schools (AEMS)
*Athletes and the Arts
Association Européenne des Conservatoires/Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC)
*Association for Body Mapping Education
*Association of Anglican Musicians (AAM)
*Association of Concert Bands
*Barbershop Harmony Society
Buffet et Crampon
Bundesverband der deutschen Musikinstrumentenhersteller e.V
*California Youth Symphony Association
*Canadian Band Association (CBA)
Chicago Children's Choir
Children's Chorus of Washington
*Choral Canada
Chorus America
*Church Music Publishers Association (CMPA)
*College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA)
Confederation of European Music Industries (CAFIM)
*Country Music Association Foundation
Drum Corps International (DCI)
Educational Theatre Association (EdTA)
European Choral Association - Europa Cantat
*Fargo-Moorhead Orchestral Association
*Florida Music Education Association (FMEA)
*French Musical Instrument Organisation (La Chambre Syndicale de la Facture Instrumentale, CSFI)
*Gala Choruses
*Halifax Concert Band Society
HBCU National Band Directors' Consortium
High School Directors National Association (HSBDNA)
*Indiana Choral Directors Association
*Indiana State School Music Association
*Indianapolis Children's Choir
International Conductors Guild
*International Double Reed Society (IDRS)
*International Music Council
International Society for Music Education
*Kansas Bandmasters Association (KBA)
*Kappa Kappa Psi
*Kentucky Music Educators Association (KMEA)
*Lakeville Area Community Band
*League of American Orchestras
*Lesbian & Gay Band Association
Louisiana Music Educators Association (LMEA)
*Maine Music Educators Association (MMEA)
*Manitoba Band Association
*Mid Penn Band Organization
MidWest Clinic
Minority Band Directors National Association
*Music Association of California Community Colleges (MACCC)
*Music for All
Music Industries Association
*Music Learning Band Program
*Music Teachers National Association (MTNA)
*Music Publishers Association
Musical America Worldwide
*National Association for Music Education (NAfME)
*National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS)
*National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO)
National Dance Education Organization (NDEO)
National Flute Association (NFA)
*National Guild for Community Arts Education
*National Music Council of the US
*National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA)
*New Horizons International Music Association (NHIMA)
*New York State Band Directors Association
*New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA)
*North Carolina Music Educators Association
*Nova Scotia Band Association
*Oahu Band Directors Association
*Ohio Foundation for Music Education (OFME)
*Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA)
*Opera America
*Orcas Island Community Band
*Orchestras Canada/Orchestres Canada
*Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE)
Percussive Arts Society (PAS)
*Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA)
*Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
*Quadrant Research
*Saskatchewan Band Association
Save the Music Foundation
*Sigma Alpha Iota Philanthropies
*Sing A Mile High International Children’s Choral Festival
*Slate Valley Singers
*Songwriters Guild of America (SGA)
*South Dakota Bandmasters Association
*South Dakota Music Education Association
*Surrey Music Educators Association
*Sweet Adelines International (SAI)
*Tau Beta Sigma
*Tennessee Music Education Association (TMEA)
*Texas Bandmasters Association
*Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA)
*The College Music Society and The CMS Fund
*The Main Street Singers, Inc (Main Street Children’s Choir)
*The National Catholic Band Association
*The Sinfonia Educational Foundation
*The Voice Foundation
United Sound
*Virginia Music Educators Association
*Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA)
WGI Sport of the Arts
*Wisconsin School Music Association
*Women Band Directors International (WBDI)
*World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE)
*Young Voices of Colorado
Collegiate Conference Band Associations:
*ACC Band Directors Association
*Big 12 Band Directors Association
*Big 10 Band Directors Association
*PAC 12 Band Directors Association
*SEC Band Directors Association
Individual Schools:
*Clemson University Bands
*Linn-Benton Community College
*UCLA
*Utah
Supporters:
*Bob Morrison
*Bob Rogers Travel
*Conn-Selmer
*D’Addario Woodwinds
* Organizations have provided financial support
(Updated as of 8/17/20 at 2:30 PM)
For more information or questions contact, please visit the FAQ webpage.
Here's a collection of articles and studies relating to COVID-19 that pertain to our study:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1PZ8RF3EytzUWGwfJNpu4fsyXc4E_u2Yi
Chairs, Mark Spede (CBDNA) and James Weaver (NFHS)
Dr. Mark J. Spede is Professor of Music, Director of Bands, Director of Tiger Band, and Conductor of the Symphonic Band at Clemson University. He is the recipient of the Clemson University 2009 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (College of Architecture, Arts, and Humanities), and three Clemson University Board of Trustees Awards for Faculty Excellence (2008, 2009, and 2012). He has served the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) in a number of capacities; he is currently national president. Dr. Spede previously served on the faculties at the University of Texas and the University of Florida and has degrees from the University of Michigan, Ball State University, and the University of Texas.
Dr. James Weaver is the Director of Performing Arts and Sports for the National Federation of High School State Associations. He has been a teacher and administrator at the district, state, and national level. As the director of performing arts and sports Dr. Weaver oversees student participation, professional development, and awareness of performing arts activities throughout the nation’s 19,500+ high schools. Dr. Weaver, earned a bachelor of music degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, a master’s degree in educational administration and leadership from Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and his doctorate in school district administration and educational leadership from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota.
Shelly L. Miller, Ph.D., is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and faculty in the Environmental Engineering Program at the University of Colorado Boulder, holding an M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Harvey Mudd College. Dr. Miller teaches about and investigates urban air quality and works diligently to understand the impact of air pollution on public health and the environment. She is also an expert on indoor environmental quality including airborne infectious disease transmission and control and air cleaning technologies. Dr. Miller is a member of the Academy of Fellows of the International Society for Indoor Air and Climate (ISIAQ). Dr. Miller has published over 70 peer reviewed articles on air quality, authored a Chapter on Indoor Air Quality in the Environmental Engineering Handbook, is an active scientist on twitter, and publishes open access as often as possible.
Dr. Srebric is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and a founding Director of the Center for Sustainability in the Built Environment at the University of Maryland (City@UMD). The focus of Srebric’s research is on measurements and multi-scale modeling of built infrastructure to provide reliable assessments of how these systems affect occupant respiratory health, building energy consumption, and associated CO2 emissions. She taught and developed new courses at University of Maryland, Penn State, and Harvard. She also presented more than thirty guest lectures at different universities including Stanford, Princeton, MIT, and Columbia. She was elected an international member of the Serbian National Academy of Engineering in 2013. Dr. Srebric became an Elected Fellow of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ) in 2018, and an Elected Fellow of the International Building Performance and Simulation Association (IBPSA) in 2019. Most recently, her research work was recognized with a 2019-2020 USM Board of Regents’ Faculty Award for Excellence in Innovation.
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