Health & Safety at Eastern Music Festival

With the ever-changing circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, health and safety protocols and mandates continue to evolve. EMF is planning for in-person study, with certain limitations in place (smaller ensembles, reduced capacity indoors, outdoor spaces, etc.) following current health and safety recommendations. All programs and course offerings are subject to change.

EMF is in continuous contact with our Guilford College host campus and monitoring local, state, and federal COVID-19 safety guidelines. We will be nimble and respond according as the recommended community guidelines change.

EMF Health & Safety Protocols

Updated May 25, 2021: Face masks will be required for audience members, regardless of vaccination status, in all public performances and events. Performers will also wear face masks, in accordance with Guilford College and State of North Carolina community guidelines. Masks be worn performances. Social distancing of six feet apart is highly encouraged, and vigilant hand washing will also be required.

Based upon current local, state, and federal recommendations and the wide-spread availability and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines, the Board has enacted the following policy:

Eastern Music Festival will require all faculty, staff, and students  participating in the 2021 Festival to receive and show receipt of the COVID-19 vaccine prior to arriving on campus.

Campus arrivals will be staggered expanded to two days (June 25-26) to limit crowding and contact during check-in. Enrolled students will be allowed one adult to accompany them to assist with move-in and move-out.

All Festival participants (students, faculty, staff) will receive a COVID-19 test upon arrival and possibly at other points over the Festival timeframe. StarMed will manage the PCR testing for the EMF community. Self-isolation in assigned campus housing will be required until the participants negative COVID-19 test results are available. Quarantine rooms will be available should a positive test result occur.

EMF is expanding the hours and availability of our on-campus nursing staff as well as partnering with a nearby medical professional and walk-in clinic for additional health care resources for our community.

All students are housed according to gender and age. In 2021, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, EMF is reducing the student capacity in each dorm to allow for greater physical distancing.

Festival participants will be asked to remain on campus as much as is feasibly possible for the duration of the Festival and refrain from unnecessary off campus excursions. All participants will attempt to refrain from comingling with other campus attendees (such as sports camps) as much as is feasible.

Guilford College cafeteria operations will be modified in Summer 2021 to ensure meal preparation, service, and dining practices meet the latest health and safety standards in light of the ongoing health crisis. This may include grab-and-go meals and limited outdoor seating during mealtimes.

All students, faculty, staff, and community participants will be expected to follow the recommended health and safety guidelines for the duration of their time on campus at EMF.

Participant Health & Safety

Based upon current local, state, and federal recommendations and the wide-spread availability and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines, the EMF Board of Directors has enacted the following policy:
 
Eastern Music Festival will require all faculty, staff, and students over the age of 16* participating in the 2021 Festival to receive and show receipt of the COVID-19 vaccine prior to arriving on campus. Vaccinations must be completed no later than June 4, 2021. *Students under the age of 16 are exempt from this requirement unless/until vaccines become approved and available for the under-16 age group.
 
Updated May 13, 2021: Due to the extended approval of the Pfizer vaccine, we are expanding our mandate to include our 14 to 16-year-old participants.
 

Festival Expectations

  • Music programming will reflect a repertoire that can be performed in a more socially distant environment.
  • Bell covers and masks will be required for all instrumentalists for rehearsals and performances.
  • Hand sanitizer will be available in all shared spaces on campus.
  • Pianos will be cleaned with a peroxide solution after each use.
  • Rehearsals, classes, and private lessons will be held in campus studios and rooms with COVID-19 health and safety protocols in place (shorter indoor time, thorough cleaning between uses, mandatory masks, social distancing, and hand washing/hand sanitizing).
  • Spaces will be left unoccupied after each rehearsal, lesson, or performance to allow for proper air circulation and cleaning.


Additional protocols may be established as conditions require. Should conditions warrant, will certainly reevaluate these policies in the event we are able to restore an experience that is closer to normal.