ACB Community Forum : COVID-19 and Bands
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 Subject : Pop Up Concerts A Way to Bring Music To The Public During Covid.. 09/13/2020 12:54:54 PM 
Greater Des Moines Community Band
Posts: 1
Location
We have all beeen struggling with ways to present live musical performances in the age of COVID. Thanks to an idea from the Boone (IA) Municipal Band, we in the Greater Des Moines Community Band have found a successful way to engage musicians in music making and audiences in hearing live performances while maintaining social distancing and following local guidelines.

The idea is Pop Up Concerts. We have a Pop Up Ensemble created out of membership of the band who felt comfortable playing in a group. We started with a group of just under 30 and now have a group of just over 40 who are playing.

How did we make this happen? Obviously, local restrictions had to be eased before anything like this was even possible. By July, we had that opportunity. After our board gave its approval to move forward on the project, membership was contacted to see if there was enough interest and if we could fill a minimum of bare bones instrumentation.

Both were possible. We then assembled individual packets of consumable music, since sharing is not possible. These packets are being destroyed at the end of the project. We found all outdoor venues which had enough space to socially distance the band and the audience. The band sits in a staggered format so no one is playing into the backs of the people in front of them. We had one rehearsal outside at the local music store and then set out on our concert season. We have played in two of our members front yards as well as two church parking lots and a return to the music store parking lot. We have another church parking lot and another member's yard to play in before the end of the season. We have also been asked to play for the opening of a new amphitheater in our metro area. We were also supposed to play for a neighborhood farmer's market, but rain washed that performance out.
We have audiences which range from 35-75 depending on the venue. People bring their lawn chairs or sit in their cars to listen to the concert. One of the neat things that happens at every concert is that once we start playing people keep coming to hear what's happening.

Membership brings their own chairs and stands and brass players have some version of a spit containment system for each performance. They sit in the 6x6 or 6x9 configurations. They wear masks before and after the performance. Performances are about 45 minutes in length and the music is rotated and reshuffled so that if people attand more than one performance, we do have groupies that do come to almost every peroformance, they don't hear the same concert. That makes it good for the performers as well. The music is a combination of marches and popular music that can be covered easily and is audience friendly (recognizeable). Attendance is taken at each performance, members who don't feel well stay home, and if they would test positive, they are required inform the director so an alert (confidentiality maintained) can go out so those who were there with the person can be tested. We have not had to use that to this point and we are into month three of this series. Concerts have been scheduled basically every two weeks until September where they have come a little closer together as we will play our final concert September 21.

This project has been very successful. Our numbers of players have grown as people feel more comfortable in playing. It is all volunteer and any one not feeling comfortable or who has a conflict can opt out of a performance. Crowds have been great as well.

The members have expressed an interest in making the Pop Up Concert a regular part of our Summer Series. It is a more laid back concert and it lives up to its name of "Pop Up" as we pop in, play, and leave. Concerts have all had a connection with membership and we utliize our social media (Facebook) to promote the events. Membership are responsible for getting the word out in their neighborhoods or at their churches.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. I am available through my own email or through our Greater Des Moines Community Band Facebook page.

Christa Miller, Director
Greater Des Moines Community Band - Des Moines, IA
[email protected]
 Subject : Re:Pop Up Concerts A Way to Bring Music To The Public During Covid.. 10/21/2020 02:44:25 PM 
Dunedin Concert Band
Posts: 15
Location
This is a great idea!
We just held our first public performance since Feb. So pleased to have more audience than performers!
Photo: http://mydms.co/201018a-01
 
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