I recently wrote a new piece for my wife's 5th grade band, Cape Crusader (check it out here). Well, it wasn't too long after that schools were closed, and all work moved to online learning for the remainder of the year. She never got to perform the piece with the students, however, I did enjoy hearing students play their individual parts for her remotely — it ended up being one of their assignments to record and send to her.

So now, the larger question is, what will happen to music instruction in schools as we move forward in this strange time of social distancing? When students and teachers return to school, what will music instruction look like? Only time will tell, but it surely will look quite different, at least at first. My fingers are crossed, hoping that large group music instruction doesn't take too much of a hit. It is such an essential part of how we learn about music. Making music with others is what it's all about.

Just completed a new piece for beginning band, Cape Crusader. I wrote it for my adventurous soulmate, Diane Adams and the Wooster, Ohio 5th Grade Band. Check it out here.