Re-imagining Youth Orchestra
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to re-imagine how to provide the BYO experience for the 2020/21 season while keeping musicians, staff, volunteers, and families as safe as possible. The BYO staff and Board of Directors have worked hard to develop a hybrid approach that will offer musicians new experiences and opportunities while maintaining the supportive environment within which members can play incredible classical music together and continue to grow and develop as musicians.
Details are contained in the BYO Health, Safety, and Operations Handbook which supersedes some of the information shown elsewhere on the orchestra website. You can download the handbook or keep scrolling for a short overview of this year's program.
Live Rehearsals
Every other Saturday, BYO will rehearse outdoors in separate cohorts of 14 musicians + 1 conductor/coach. Seating will be spread out with a minimum of 6 ft between musicians (more in some cases) and musicians will be required to wear a face-covering unless playing a wind instrument which will require a bell cover or full-instrument cover. Additional rehearsal changes and sanitation practices will help to enhance safety and comply with state and county health guidelines.
Virtual Rehearsals
BYO will use Jamulus, exciting open-source software that enables real-time playing with other musicians over the internet, for virtual rehearsals led by BYO's conductor/coaches every other Saturday. We are hosting our own private servers here in the Bay Area which provide for very low latency (delay) enabling real-time collaboration. Please download our Jamulus instructions below.
Virtual Performances
We are busy planning for some fun virtual performances. Given we will not likely be able to play for a live audience this season, we'll provide musicians with a studio orchestra recording experience that will be produced into high-quality digital performances that can be shared with family, friends, and community members. More details to follow in October.