<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597674218613.png" alt=" A student's mellophone horn is covered to prevent the spread of airborne respiratory droplets at Valley Center High School band camp. Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> A student's mellophone horn is covered to prevent the spread of airborne respiratory droplets at Valley Center High School band camp. Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRIAN GRIMMETT <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/horns-down-masks-challenges-holding-band-camp-during-pandemic">Kansas News Service</a>VALLEY CENTER, Kansas — On its face, band camp at 
Valley Center High School looks pretty normal: Lines of students with 
instruments march up and down a football field while the color guard 
practices throwing flags into the air.Band director Jan Verboom drills the horn section on technique.“Keep the eighth notes together, guys,” he said. “Vertical alignment.”Other
 things are very different. You don’t see the whole band together, just 
small groups. Trumpets, saxophones and clarinets cover their horns with 
nylons. And for the most part, when the instruments go down, the masks 
come up.They’re changes that not only band directors, but also 
football coaches and choir directors are being asked to make as they 
prepare for the beginning of a school year under the shadow of the 
coronavirus pandemic. They say they’re doing the best they can, but many
 have unanswered questions about whether they’ll be able to continue — 
and if they do, what’s the best way to keep students and staff safe.Already, at least one school district, in <a href="https://kckps.org/kckps-suspends-fall-sports/" target="_blank">Kansas City, Kansas, canceled all fall activities</a>, including marching band.Verboom
 is doing what he can. At camp, at the end of a morning session with 
brass players, he shouted, “Band meeting around me. Take a seat and have
 your mask on.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597674270877.jpeg" alt=" Valley Center High School band director Jan Verboom speaks to brass players after a morning band camp session. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Valley Center High School band director Jan Verboom speaks to brass players after a morning band camp session. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>After going over a few issues discovered during practice, he gives 
the group a pep talk — one with a very coronavirus-centric message.“I
 don’t want you to ask yourselves, ‘What’s the point, we don’t really 
have a season coming up,’” he said. “We don’t know that yet.”Drumming
 up motivation among his students is a top priority this year. That’s 
because this school, which is about 20 minutes north of Wichita, already
 has lost a lot. The band was supposed to perform at the <a href="https://www.americanveteranscenter.org/avc-events/parade/" target="_blank">National Memorial Day parade</a> in Washington, D.C., in May, but that was canceled. Annual state marching band competitions <a href="http://kansasbandmasters.com/events/marching-championship/" target="_blank">are also canceled</a>. And while football is still on, there’s no guarantee that won’t change or that the band will be allowed to play at halftime.Verboom said it’s hard to make a plan when there’s still so much uncertainty. His <a href="https://www.usd262.net/cms/One.aspx?portalId=257107&amp;pageId=13231404" target="_blank">district moved the start date for school back</a>
 to Sept. 9. It’s also left open the possibility that not every student 
will be able to come to campus daily if the spread of the coronavirus 
becomes a problem. A block schedule would make coordinating rehearsal 
even more challenging, he said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597674302883.jpeg" alt=" Valley Center High School band members stand at attention during camp. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Valley Center High School band members stand at attention during camp. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>Faced with similar uncertainty and safety concerns, Wichita’s East 
High School Band Director Maranda Wilson moved band camp online.“I
 know that my students overwhelmingly wanted to do band camp,” she said.
 “But when I thought about what that would look like at a time of such 
high risk in our community, it just wouldn’t be a traditional band 
camp.”Knowing that remote band camp likely wouldn’t sound as 
exciting, Wilson tried to make it more attractive&nbsp; by inviting guest 
performers to offer training and encouragement. She also tried to find 
online team-building exercises.But even with the workarounds, 
she’s worried about what she’ll do once school starts. Wilson wonders 
how many students can safely gather at one time or whether rehearsals 
will have to be held outside.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597674327600.jpeg" alt=" A student plays a snare drum during band camp at Valley Center High School. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> A student plays a snare drum during band camp at Valley Center High School. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>Whatever the fall ends up looking like though, she said she’ll do 
everything she can to make sure band students get some experience 
performing music together — even if that’s in groups of 10-15 on the 
front lawn of the school.“It’s such an important part of their 
high school experience,” Wilson said. “For a lot of our kids, that’s the
 one really great thing about school.”<h2>Finding alternatives</h2>Back
 at Valley Center for another morning of small group practice, student 
drum majors take the temperature of each arriving student.“We’re
 definitely more of enforcers now,” said Timothy McHatten, who’s a drum 
major and a senior. “We have to make sure everyone is doing everything 
right.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597674356872.jpeg" alt=" The Valley Center High School drumline waits for instructions during rehearsal. Credit Bran Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> The Valley Center High School drumline waits for instructions during rehearsal. Credit Bran Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>He said being split up into smaller groups isn’t nearly as fun as 
getting together as a full band. It lacks the one-big-family energy 
that’s usually there. But Teagan Horning, another senior drum major, 
said with all of the craziness of the past several months, everyone is 
mostly just happy to be here.“I’ve been trying not to dwell on 
(canceled events) and just look forward to what new opportunities we can
 have and what new experiences we can have,” she said.Because of
 concerns about the coronavirus,&nbsp; band camp wasn’t mandatory. In the 
past, Verboom said, camp is generally a way to see who’s really 
committed, but that mentality just didn’t make sense this year.He
 even considered canceling it on several occasions, knowing how dicey it
 could be to gather a bunch of teenagers to blow into instruments when 
an infectious and dangerous respiratory illness is spreading out of 
control.“There’s days I walk in here and you wonder as a teacher
 if you’re doing the right thing because we want to keep the kids safe,”
 he said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597674383018.jpeg" alt=" Masked band members try to keep their distance during band camp at Valley Center High School. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Masked band members try to keep their distance during band camp at Valley Center High School. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>Ultimately, he felt following the guidelines given by the <a href="http://www.kshsaa.org/Public/music/PDF/SummerGuidelines-Marching%20Bands.pdf" target="_blank">Kansas State High School Activities Association</a> and the <a href="https://www.nfhs.org/articles/unprecedented-international-coalition-led-by-performing-arts-organizations-to-commission-covid-19-study/" target="_blank">National Federation of State High School Associations</a>
 were enough to keep the kids safe. He also felt that if Valley Center’s
 athletes were doing conditioning work, his band students deserved 
something, too.Preliminary research from NFHS and the University
 of Colorado shows playing instruments is akin to coughing or sneezing 
when it comes to spreading respiratory droplets. The study suggested 
students wear masks (even while playing, by creating a small slit for 
their mouthpiece) and put one on their instruments. It also suggests any
 indoor rehearsal should be limited to 30 minutes.Band camp is 
different in other ways, too. Instead of a full marching program, 
Verboom is having small ensemble groups prepare for winter performances,
 potentially at basketball games. One morning at camp, the drumline and 
pit-instrument players were even practicing Christmas music.“We 
want the kids to enjoy playing music just for the sake of playing 
music,” Verboom said. “Whether we’re trying to go for a big halftime 
show at a football game or playing in a competition representing Valley 
Center, it still goes back to the bare thing of appreciating playing 
music.”Brian Grimmett reports on the environment, energy and
 natural resources for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You 
can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/briangrimmett?lang=en" target="_blank">@briangrimmett</a> or email him at grimmett@kmuw.org.

Horns down, masks up: The challenges band camp faces during pandemic