Campus Facilities and Safety Practices

Berklee has established specific foot-traffic patterns within buildings to avoid overcrowding. New signage will be installed throughout buildings directing community members on how to safely move through each space, as well as where to enter and exit facilities.

In January, we will also share a virtual tour video of facilities so that community members can experience moving through spaces, as well as see how rooms have been outfitted to follow new safety guidelines.

Berklee has used industry-specific guidance in revising room occupancy limits for its on-campus spaces. These capacity adjustments will allow individuals to observe Berklee’s social distancing guidelines, which are as follows for both classes and performance activities:

• Six-foot distancing is required for academic, instrumental, and theater activity with low aerosol production, such as speaking at an average volume. Six-foot by nine-foot distancing is required for trombone players.

• Eight-foot distancing is required for dance activities, as well as theater activities with moderate aerosol production, such as loud speaking.

• Fifteen-foot distancing is required for all singing activities, including theater singing.

Berklee is installing plexiglass barriers throughout campus in high-traffic reception areas to help protect individuals from airborne particles. 

Portable barriers will be available to use in ensemble rooms and other spaces. Woodwind players, brass players, and vocalists are required to use these portable barriers when rehearsing with others in a practice room. 

When on campus, face masks must be worn at all times. 

• Singers may prefer specialized face masks designed for singing. For example:

  • The Resonance Singer's Mask comes in two sizes (medium and large), and is washable. The design features adjustable head straps and internal construction that holds the fabric away from the mouth so that inhaling is more comfortable and jaw movement does not disrupt mask placement. The sizing of this mask runs large.

  • The Singer's Mask is similar to the first but has a larger spacing away from the mouth, creating more of a duckbill. This mask has ear straps and comes in child and adult sizes. Allow two weeks for manufacturing and delivery.

• Wind instrument players may also prefer specialized face masks designed for performance, such as Dance Sophisticates Music Mask (masks) or National Educational Music Company (masks and bell covers). Individuals interested in making their own face mask can find DIY directions here.

In addition to wearing face masks, brass players must cover their instrument bells with a dense fabric bell cover (e.g., McCormicks, Rettig Music, Seavine) and practice water key etiquette:

• Drape the water valve and collect condensate in a towel or WindSorb.  

• Disinfect towel/WindSorb after use.  

• Empty spit valves into a puppy pad, WindSorb, or cloth that is disposed of by the user.

After completing a campus-wide assessment of all building ventilation systems, Berklee has taken several measures to enhance air cleaning of its campus spaces:

• Air filters were replaced with new MERV 13 filters. 

• All ductwork has been cleaned and sanitized.  

• Systems have been reprogramed to provide maximum ventilation.

Campus spaces without mechanical ventilation were either taken offline for the spring semester or outfitted with ventilation systems appropriate for the space.

In addition, portable HEPA filters will be available to supplement ventilation in some rooms, including small instructional spaces used for singing or dancing and larger instructional spaces.

Community members will be responsible for sanitizing high-touch areas before and after use, including in classrooms and practice spaces. Throughout campus, community members will find cleaning stations equipped with disinfecting wipes, gloves, and hand sanitizer, as well as instructions on how to properly wipe down shared furniture, instruments, and equipment in each space.

At the end of each day, campus spaces will be cleaned and disinfected by Berklee professional custodial staff from ACME. ACME staff will also regularly disinfect instructional spaces with electrostatic fogging, which is a fine mist that effectively disinfects all surfaces on contact.

Berklee has rented space at 1120 Boylston Street to support the de-densification of its campus. This facility will provide 30 new practice spaces to students participating in the spring 2021 campus hybrid semester.