The Board has discussed the input that individual players shared over the past two weeks concerning our pending future rehearsals. Dr. Ron MacKenzie also shared his professional medical opinion.

• We must all agree that the November concert is compromised. There’s no sense in pretending that we can put things in place to make it normal. And there’s no guarantee that it will be a normal concert with a live audience; we need to continue to consider all possibilities, including a webcast with no in-person audience.
• As we plan, we need to keep in mind the perspective of those who are the most vulnerable physically and emotionally. No one should feel coerced to participate if not comfortable.
• We need to proceed with week-to-week decisions. Ron will provide professional medical input and data points each week. There’s no sense in making a call on rehearsals more than one week ahead, without a crystal ball.

For Monday, October 4, we will rehearse with woodwinds only.

• 7:30-8:45 pm – All woodwinds (rep TBA)
• 8:45-9:45 pm – All clarinets, solo Eb clarinet, solo piccolo, solo Bb clarinet, solo bass clarinet, solo oboe, solo bassoon, solo English horn (Posy III intensive; other woodwinds will be dismissed)
• We will run a Zoom during the entire rehearsal. All players are encouraged to watch/listen so we can maintain as much engagement as possible. That said, I have no expectations of 100% focused viewing, but I want to be sure we make the effort to provide everyone equal access to the work done that night.
• We’ll make a decision about October 11 after this rehearsal. Yes, it’s a holiday, but it’s on our calendar and we expect to rehearse in some form.
• We recognize that we cannot please everyone all the time with these difficult decisions. We are all doing the best we can for the musical, physical, and emotional health of everyone.

Please consider:

• Any player who is not comfortable with attending one or more rehearsals under these conditions should contact David Church (personnel@westchestersymphonicwinds.org) to be excused. 
• Although TMH has given us a mask waiver (because we are a 100% vaccinated, closed group), players who feel more comfortable wearing masks during rehearsals at TMH are encouraged to do so. However, no one is required to wear a mask during rehearsals at this point.
• The air conditioning with MERV filters will continue to run throughout our rehearsal. Consider the cooler temperatures when choosing rehearsal attire.
• The stage fog exhaust fan will run, with regular on/off intervals, throughout the rehearsal. We had reports of member headaches from running the fan consistently, and the generated noise level is also a concern. So we will go with intervallic running of the fan. 
• We will continue to monitor the viability of the concert itself in the weeks ahead.

Thank you for your patience and support as we continue to navigate these pandemic waters.