Going back to Band?

[Shawn]

I haven't seen tents.
I have seen kids in daycare in 8' x 8' cages.

[mbrooke]

If you are vaccinated, you have minimised your risk.

Some food for thought:
https://www.classicfm.com/artists/al...wind-droplets/

While that is certainly true, it is not the only consideration.

Mike

[dsurkin]

[snip] The community orchestra (in which I play trombone) hasn't yet resumed rehearsals. It uses a local Ethical Culture Society room (i.e., indoors), and that organization is not yet permitting community groups to resume operations. [snip]

The Ethical Culture Society has opened up for rehearsals. The Westchester Community Orchestra had a board meeting tonight (I'm on the board), and we will resume bi-weekly rehearsals starting September 13th. Vaccinations mandatory, masks must be worn except for wind players while actually playing (so when the trombone parts have 85 measures rest, we'll be masked).

As one of the board members put it, if we don't resume rehearsals, there's a danger that the orchestra will just fade away. Our main source of funding is member dues. We will pay the expenses of the rehearsal room rental and the conductor's fees (he's the only paid professional) from reserves and not resume collecting dues until 2022. Of course, in the words of one board member, who knows if we'll have to shut down again in the future?

[RickF]

Our band starts back rehearsing again next Monday night. They made it mandatory that all members must be vaccinated — glad they did that. I actually just got a third shot yesterday as I have an auto-immune condition.

It’s been a year and a half since I’ve played in band and I’m looking forward to it.

[Alicia_Haag]

I sympathize with you and all the musicians whose concentration activity was disrupted as a result of quarantine. I understand how difficult it is for you to remain without any occupation. But I also want to urge you not to rush to return to the team if the vaccination status is not known and you cannot follow preventive measures in an appropriate manner. Your health and the health of your loved ones is the most valuable thing you have.
Thanks to the creators of this forum that at this tough moment you can find support and talk here.

[ann reid]

My 2 cents- although I was eligible as soon as vaccination became available in my “hotspot” area AND had close to zero exposure to anyone, I DID become infected in January, and am just now, in September, beginning to feel more like I want to feel.

I am now fully vaccinated and awaiting input from my doctor concerning the booster. I have been to a couple indoor rehearsals and have played a couple outdoor concerts, but I still fatigue much more easily than I did before my original illness.

Worst of all, being ill disrupted my previous hour/day practice regime for weeks, so I’ve lost ground even with playing. I have confidence in the vaccine and I assume that my risk factor is even lower since I was actually infected, but I still take very few chances, and I miss my regular rehearsal band schedule more than anything else I was doing before the pandemic started.