At MICDS, when anyone in our community is posed with a challenge, it’s incredible to see the Rams family support one another in creative ways. This was exactly the case for our band classes when the COVID-19 pandemic required many adjustments in order to keep students playing music on campus.
Without missing a beat, Middle and Upper School Band Teachers Becky Long and Josh Baumgartner researched all that was needed to keep their students playing music safely in these times. One of those needs was for students to be provided with bell covers. Bell covers act as masks on the bell-shaped part of instruments like trumpets, trombones, saxophones, and tubas. They are made with washable fabric that doesn’t affect sound quality or volume, yet they perform the important function of blocking aerosol droplets.
Desperate times call for desperate measurements, and our very own JoAnne Vogel, Middle School Fine Arts Department Chair and Visual Art Teacher, stepped forward to help lead the creation process for the bell covers. «She was the master craftswoman that came up with the right size patterns needed to fit the instruments, she reached out to her neighborhood for fabric donations (all of the fabric was donated), and she put together kits for the volunteers to sew,» shared Long. «Amazing!» She even put together a how-to video for those who would help sew the instrument masks.
The supply kits were distributed to a team of volunteers to help with the sewing. Long recruited help from the Parents Association with the assistance of PA President Stephanie Kolman and Baumgartner secured help from friends. Here are some of the wonderful folks who helped sew bell covers for our students:
- Tessa Auza
- Christina Cacciatore
- Abby Hearn
- Janice Liju
- Mary Mathyer
- Nela Navarrine
- Claire Newton
- Cara Nicole
- Lindsey Postaski
- Tejal Sang
