Open Call: Accreditation program helped ready Music School of Delaware for pandemic

Editor's note: Open Call is a weekly column in which we ask arts and cultural leaders to share their perspectives on emerging from the COVID-19 crisis and welcoming back audiences.

“The Arts” are about PEOPLE.

Through artistic endeavors we express ourselves. We “make noise” (on stage, canvas, in film or otherwise) to convey what it means to exist, and what matters to us.

The Music School of Delaware has for nearly a century been the primary local community resource for anyone and everyone to step into those experiences through music. We welcome individuals of all abilities throughout Delaware and residents of the regions beyond.

When a public health crisis threatened the well-being of people everywhere, at the Music School we asked, “How can we continue to serve?;” “How shall we continue to deliver?;” “What is our purpose in this time of great stress, fear, and danger?” Our response to the pandemic was guided by our answers.

We responded like other organizations in many ways. We kept going, stood by our people – kept our faculty and staff employed, our students and families engaged in music-making, and our donors and friends up to date. We made whatever adaptations necessary to do so. We continued to deliver private, group and ensemble instruction, modified to provide meaningful, if different, experiences.

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Led by our mission, we determined that our purpose had not changed: We remained dedicated to bringing “more music to more people in more places”.

We responded to changing circumstances — all the while putting PEOPLE first in determining what we could do safely — and how. It took enormous effort from staff and faculty — and courage from our board.

As things progressed, we have witnessed just how important our mission and programs are. We tapped the potentials of virtual delivery, reaching new students and audiences near and far –even in California, Canada, Texas, Florida, Norway and Africa! And this past year, the school reached the highest private lesson enrollment since 2014.

The families, communities and partners of the Music School are our cherished reason for being. And the dedication and caring from the school’s 85 faculty, 25 staff and the board of directors is a source of pride.

The strength of their collective commitment has never been more apparent than over these past 18 months. The pandemic has been nothing less than supremely challenging, and the Music School’s organizational response was unified, decisive and immediate.

If one can say there are hidden blessings in something as devastating as a pandemic, at the Music School it would be the resounding affirmation of the importance of The Arts.

Fear that classical music is a dying enterprise has been assuaged. Rather, it seems evident that when people experience stress and distress, they turn to music as a healing balm for respite and relief from worries, concerns, and suffering – in this case caused by a frightening public health crisis. Practicing an instrument daily, guided by weekly music lessons, is a positive, active, engrossing activity — a welcome counterbalance to “screen time”.

Our pandemic response tested us, and wore us to the bone, but also generated affirmations.

In March 2020, the Music School had just completed three-days’ scrutiny by accreditation evaluators (February 2020) following their review of our comprehensive, 105-page Self Study (with 26 appendices). Eighteen months earlier (fall of 2018) preparations had begun – evaluating the school, top to bottom. Discussions with faculty, staff, the board and surveys of others yielded broad input about the school. The power of this rigorous approach to accreditation has been a unifying vehicle for improvement, and a foundation for resilience.   

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Since leading the school through its first accreditation process in 2004, I often have been asked about its value. The merits of accreditation lie not in obtaining a “badge” but in carrying out the process. The unifying and affirming benefits have been evident throughout the pandemic.

The Music School is responsible for meeting individual needs of thousands of people every week. With surprising agility, we have made changes needed to survive and thrive during this crisis.

The creativity and will of our workforce, and the passionate belief that what we do matters made this possible. Students, families, and communities need us. This is the heart of our organization — perhaps the ultimate key to the confidence with which we have continued forward during the pandemic.

We will continue to bring music to life for the people we serve, and to do so with greater devotion, assurance and confidence than ever.

The pandemic has shown us that The Arts really do make a difference, and it really does matter.     

Kate M. Ransom has been president and CEO of The Music School of Delaware since 1999.