After weathering more than a year and a half of the Covid-19 pandemic, most music schools in the U.S. are getting back to in-person classes and ensemble performances with vaccine requirements for students, faculty and staff.

While instructors and students alike are breathing a sigh of relief at the prospect of a return to relative normality, Patrick Kirst, interim director of the USC Thornton School of Music, points out that a full school year incorporating remote classes via Zoom actually resulted in some permanent changes that were advantageous. “I felt for sure that I could show certain things on ...