Waiting in the wings: N.B. music teachers look forward to seeing students again
CBC
Melody Dobson jokes the plant is so big it will have to stay in her music studio forever.
Named Quasimodo by her students, the giant, leafy plant that belonged to Dobson's mother sits in the corner of what used to be called a smoke room, but for two decades has been home to aspiring singers in the Riverview area.
But COVID-19 restrictions over the last two years changed that, leaving the studio often empty.
"In a nutshell, it was devastating," Dobson said.
As COVID-19 restrictions end, though, Dobson and other music teachers across the province are beginning to look forward with both caution and excitement to bringing students back to their studios and planning live performances.
At Dobson's studio, attached to the house that belonged to her grandparents, there was enough space to keep 4.5 metres between herself and her students.
Whenever the province went into lockdown, however, lessons became virtual, which Dobson said proved difficult due to sound and internet issues.
Without live performances to look forward to, she said her students' motivation suffered.
"You have to have goals to work towards. You have to be able to get up there in front of your parents and grandparents and meet the other people in the studio, hear them perform."
Dobson said throughout the pandemic, she's always followed the science, placing her trust in Public Health. Last fall, she implemented a mandatory vaccine policy for her students, keeping masking and distancing in place when it was required.
Now, Dobson can teach her students the way she used to; standing next to them to go over theory and bringing them closer to her piano.
When all COVID-19 restrictions were lifted earlier this month, one of the first things she did was book a venue for a June recital, something she hasn't done in three years.
Dobson's 27 students will have a chance to sing inside the Albert County museum's courthouse, built in 1904, which she said has acoustics so perfect no microphones are needed.
If all goes to plan, some of Dobson's students will be singing in front of an audience for the first time.
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