It goes without saying that 2020 stinks! The impact of this year’s Coronavirus pandemic has been huge on music programs. From lost instruction time and cancelled performances, to the loss of fellowship for our members and music families, 2020 has been tough on music programs around the world.
Now we approach a new school year with even more uncertainty! Will schools open? Will music students be learning in the classroom, remotely, or some sort of hybrid combination? Will music classes be indoors or outside? Can we teach full ensembles, or will we be limited to small groups instruction? Will music students be required to wear masks while playing instruments or singing? Will there be marching band or concerts? The questions go on and on, and no one really has all of the answers.
One thing is certain in the upcoming months; every music program and educator will be working with students in some form. How that will look will differ from school to school and community to community. What will be universal is that music programs will need effective tools to communicate to their ensembles, organize their classes, and deliver content in order to keep their programs running.
Right now, your music program’s website is more important than ever.
5 ways a Cadenza website can help music programs be more effective
Central hub of information
Having one central place to post news, calendar of events, updates and more is vitally important. Emails, text, and social media are definitely great ways to communicate to your members and families, but sometimes they get missed. Having a website that is easy to update that you can direct users to is going to be more effective long-term.
Events Calendar
Like the pandemic, things are going to be changing all the time. Where music educators were once accustomed to setting rehearsal and performance schedules at the beginning of the year, these schedules must now be updated more frequently. With Cadenza’s easy to use interface and built in Events Calendar, users have the ability to update events at any time, keeping members and families informed of any changes to planned activities.
Post information & assignments
For the first time, many music educators are now finding themselves teaching remotely. Having a central online location for documents like music, worksheets, assignments and lecture notes for students and families to access online is going to be even more important, even with in-persion instruction. This can all be done in a password-protected area for extra security.
Collect forms & assignments
Allow students and families to complete online forms that you can create and upload documents and assignments. These can be stored and accessed in your site’s back-end for easy viewing and retrieval, or can be connected directly to your DropBox account. You can also create quizzes, polls or surveys either for testing, or just for fun interaction with your students.
Keep the excitement going
Students want and need to be back in school with their friends. But if they can’t right now, you’ll want to keep the interest and excitement about your program going! Add photo galleries, embed videos, write a blog, or have students contribute. Use your website as the new “hang out” spot for your students (we all have them). Get them to tune in to your website as not just a place for instruction and information, but for fun and engagement!
As we struggle with figuring out how we can have continuity in our music programs in these challenging times, we should, at the very least, provide our programs with a reliable home for information, activities and interaction. A Cadenza website provides all of this and more. We’ll be back in the classroom (and on the practice field, and the stage), one day. In the meantime, keep your members and families up to date and informed while we work through this new (temporary) normal.
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Your music program’s website is more important now than ever
Cadenza - By Musicians, For Musicians
We get it! We've walked (and marched, and conducted) in your shoes. We understand the demands and needs of running a successful performing arts organization and wanted to make this part of your job just a little bit easier. Cadenza websites are designed especially for the needs of music organizations like Bands, Choirs, Orchestras, Dance Companies and Theatre Troupes, Cadenza websites are packed with features like an events calendar, drag & drop page and form builders, ready to use page templates, volunteer sign-ups, and more.