Health and Safety
UPDATE: September 24, 2021
Dear Friends,
Morningside Music Bridge 2021 was held online due to ongoing COVID-19 issues internationally. I very much enjoyed hearing the wonderful performances and attending inspiring master classes. Student evaluations were strongly positive, and I am proud of the overall program quality in the face of the considerable challenges posed by the pandemic. Having said that, we are all eager to be back in-person for next summer’s program in Boston.
To that end, we are putting in place an amazing group of instructors and guest artists and anticipate returning to full programming, including chamber music and string orchestra. I would encourage all prospective attendees to monitor the specific COVID regulations pertinent to their country of origin and ensure that you are vaccinated as that is a requirement for much international travel for the foreseeable future, and is also a requirement for students at the New England Conservatory.
To quote from the NEC website:
…NEC will require all students (12 years of age or older) to be vaccinated against COVID-19. As with every vaccination requirement, exemptions will be approved for medical or religious reasons…
We recognize that the International students may receive COVID-19 vaccines that have not been approved for use by the FDA (Federal Drug Administrations) or the WHO (World Health Organization). We expect that vaccines with efficacy similar to US-based vaccines will be accepted by NEC, unless feral or state guidelines mandate otherwise.
Sincerely,
Paul Dornian
Executive Director
Morningside Music Bridge
UPDATE: MAY 21, 2021
Dear Friends,
As you know through our various communications over the past month we have been working towards and holding out hope for an in-person Morningside Music Bridge in July of 2021. Sadly, I must tell you that because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are going to pivot to an entirely online program for this year’s MMB.
Our in-person program plan was centered around the safety and comfort of our students, staff and faculty and having the confidence that we could bring a critical mass of participants to Boston. Although we are beginning to see a positive momentum with vaccines rolling out around the globe it is too little too late to be confident that our many students and faculty from outside of the USA would be able to travel to Boston. We are now less than 8 weeks from the program start and problems with international travel, quarantine regulations, and closed borders do not appear likely to resolve in time for this year’s program. We are also still looking at very serious outbreaks in some parts of the world. Visas and travel documents are not being issued.
We had delayed this decision for as long as possible hoping that we would see significant positive shifts towards re-opening. We are now at the point where even if some of those shifts do occur, we do not have enough of a runway to mount the quality of program that Morningside Music Bridge is identified with. We are planning an online program to meet the needs and ensure the safety of our exceptional students.
Having said that – we are going to have the best online program possible, and I am confident that we will all come away with many rich musical and educational experiences.
Our plans for the 2021 Morningside Music Bridge Online Virtual Training Program will offer another remarkable experience. What you can expect from our virtual training curriculum:
- Private lessons
- Masterclasses
- Concerto Competition
- Chamber Music
- Performance Opportunities - Emerging Artist Recitals
- MMB Blog including special webinars - will give you the chance to collaborate with fellow musicians and grow as an artist and performer.
Maimie De Silva, Program Manager, will be contacting our participants & faculty in the next week with more details. We look forward to you joining us online and sharing music making in a different way this summer.
I know many of you will be as disappointed as the Morningside Music Bridge team at this news. One of my personal coping mechanisms over the past year was looking forward to meeting you all in Boston this summer. However, that has proved to be beyond our control – so we will proceed in the very best way possible.
I look forward to meeting with all of you in person at the first opportunity.
Sincerely,
Paul Dornian
Executive Director
Morningside Music Bridge
UPDATE: AUGUST 31, 2020
Dear Friends,
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Summer 2020 program was canceled. We remained committed to staying connected with presentation of virtual performances and our online concerto competition.
Check out: https://mmb.international/concerts/archive/2020
We hope that you and your families, friends and colleagues continue to stay healthy during these challenging times and we look forward to welcoming you and reuniting in person in July 2021.
MMB Administration
UPDATE: April 27, 2020
Dear Friends,
Given the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Morningside Music Bridge has made the difficult decision to cancel our 24th Summer Music Festival, scheduled for July 6 to 31, 2020 at the New England Conservatory, Boston, MA. USA. We have been closely monitoring the continued global, regional, and local impact of COVID-19 and we know this is the right choice as the health and safety of our entire community remains our foremost concern. It is also looking very much as though we could not make the logistics work for this summer. With the global disruption of travel and lack of clarity as to when borders will re-open it is unlikely that we could bring off such an internationally focused event.
We understand this cancellation will have a direct impact on this summer’s participants and faculty and will be in touch with each of you in the next week. We thank each of you for your continued support and your patience while you waited our decision.
Morningside Music Bridge is an international gathering place, bringing talented students and faculty from around the world to participate in a transformative summer of study and performance. We thank our students, faculty, concert attendees and all friends of the program for your patience and support in this challenging time. Although we may not be together in person, we remain committed to stay connected with plans to present virtual performances. More details to follow in the upcoming months!
We are grateful to the Morningside Music Bridge Foundation Board for their continued support as we work to welcome you in July 2021 when we will come together for a superb educational experience and celebration for our 25th year!
We hope that you and your families, friends and colleagues are safe and healthy during these challenging times and we look forward to reuniting in person at the earliest possible opportunity.
MMB Administration
INFORMATION ON FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
UPDATE: April 6, 2020
During these challenging and uncertain times, we wanted to provide you with an update regarding the status of our program this summer.
At this time, we are proceeding as we continue to closely follow recommendations from our governments, and remain in communication with our host partner, the New England Conservatory.
Our focus is the health and safety of our students, faculty, patrons, staff, and the entire community. And so, we continue to monitor and will remain in communication with all participating students and faculty with updates on the status of MMB as they become available and with a decision no later than the end of April.
March 16, 2020
Dear Participants, Faculty, Staff and Friends of the Morningside Music Bridge Program
Like virtually all summer program organizations Morningside Music Bridge is closely monitoring ongoing developments worldwide related to the coronavirus (COVID-19). We are committed to the health and safety of everyone in our community from participants, to faculty, staff and audience members.
At this time, Morningside Music Bridge’s programming has not been altered due to COVID-19. The news at the moment does not look encouraging. International travel is dramatically restricted. Many schools including our host school the New England Conservatory have shut down their dormitories, are limiting access to their buildings, switching to online instruction and public concerts have been cancelled. However, we also know that the pandemic will pass and the world will gradually return to a more typical pattern of operations. We are already seeing signs of that in China where the outbreak developed.
At this point in time preparations for MMB 2020 are in place and there is nothing to be gained by cancelling until it becomes clear that we will not be able to welcome everyone to Boston in July. We are fortunate that our start date is July 6 and it is our hope that by then the situation will have stabilized and we will be on our way to a normal summer. We are aware, however, that circumstances have the potential to evolve given the ever-changing situation surrounding COVID-19. We will keep in contact. Our participants and artists will be contacted directly should any changes or cancellation become necessary.
Thank you for your patience and support as we continue to monitor this situation closely. Please feel free to contact us at info@mmb.international should you have any questions.
Morningside Music Bridge Administration
Stay safe.
MMB Administration