BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. – The band at North Brunswick High School is tuning up virtually for the start of this semester.

Because of the pandemic, all students in the county are completely remote until the end of September, but the band director expects significant changes in his classroom even when his performers return.

The band is fortunate that when the time comes, the members have a practice field with plenty of space to socially distance. In the event of rain or bad weather, band director Christopher Cook won't risk playing inside where he can't keep his students safely apart.

Instead, he'll focus lessons on music theory and music history.

“When we switched to online I just kind of kicked that into drive, and I was really able to reach that curve and come up with some great ideas to help students out,” Cook said.

He and his students have met the challenge head on since being forced to go remote at the end of last school year. This semester's missed concerts and performances won't be the first round, but they're determined to continue making music together.

“Last year was a learning curve, but I think we were pretty successful,” Cook said. "We had a lot of good online lessons, online tutorials, and I was able to really beef up my website so that students could visit and have the tools that they need to be great musicians.”  

Cook held a virtual band camp before school started to give new students a chance to get to know each other as well as the instructors. It gave everyone more time to get used to playing together while separated.

The instruments have been thoroughly sanitized and delivered to students who don't have their own so that rehearsals can go on. While they are remote, students will practice with software that tracks their progress in real time and then allows them to submit the recording to Cook.

And while there is no replacement to being in person, Cook is committed to keeping his students safe above all else. He encourages his students to look for the bright side.

“It's always a loss when you don't get to see your students, but you want to still make sure they're staying safe and even if they're safe at home, we can still make music and have different ways to connect with each other,” Cook said.