Da Capo Music Festivals 2021 Updates

Hoping for a Happy New Year in 2021!

Hello Teachers, Directors, Festival Chairpeople, and Zone Representatives! For many of you, this is your first year using Da Capo Music Festivals. Welcome!

We have all been working diligently to continue the social, emotional, and musical development of our students. Now, with NYSSMA right around the corner, it’s getting close to that time that we encourage our students to continue to perform how we know they can!

We have all received details about the logistics of the virtual festivals, and NYSSMA has posted guidance on their website. Regarding student registration, Da Capo Music Festivals has undergone a few updates to adapt to the Virtual model that NYSSMA has adopted for this festival season.

I invite you to read Da Capo’s previous Newsletter Updates at your convenience. This newsletter will focus on recent updates to the system. You are free to share this newsletter with colleagues who may not have registered for an account on Da Capo Music Festivals.

• Teachers: [Teacher Instruction Packet]
  • Da Capo Music Festivals has undergone a major facelift – which I hope will increase efficiency and ease of use.
  • IMPORTANT: The website address, Student Username, and Student Password that is used to access the Music First Virtual Platform will be found in two locations.
    • You can find the information on the student’s Playing Permit once the details have been finalized by the Festival Chairperson. You can download 1 PDF file with All Playing Permits from the top of the ‘Registrations, Schedules & Ratings’ screen.
    • Or, you can download individual PDF files (so you can email them to families) from the bottom half of the screen. The icon that you will click on looks like a Purple Learners Permit. If the icon is not available shortly after registration, that means that the Festival Chairperson has not yet completed the schedule.
  • You can now link your Da Capo Music Festivals account with your Da Capo Inventory Account to nominate students right from your Enrollment page – with One Click! Instructions can be found on your Teacher Profile page in Da Capo Inventory.
  • A new section can be found on your Homepage called “Important notes for Teachers.” Please keep an eye for updates!
  • When registering students for festivals, you can see the ‘Virtual Upload Period’ start date.
  • Please be sure to type in all of the ‘solo’ information (piece, composer, page-number) by the deadline date, as the Festival Chairperson may not allow modifications to the information after the deadline.
  • The billing page has been updated to include an itemized list of students and their associated fees.
  • The Festival Export Excel File has been updated to include more information this year. You can find a link to the spreadsheet on the Registrations, Schedules & Ratings page just to the left of the Festival Name near the top of the screen. Click on the Blue Download icon beside the festival name.
    
    
• Directors of Music: [Da Capo Director of Music Instructions]
  • New for 2021, Directors of Music who are also Teachers (and Festival Hosts) can link their three user accounts together – meaning that when you log in with any one of your account usernames, you can switch between your accounts with ease. Instructions can be found on this Google Doc.
  • A new section can be found on your Homepage called “Important Notes for Directors of Music.” Please keep an eye for updates!
  • Your homepage lists all of the festivals for which students have been registered by teachers in your district. Please note the Download Icon beside the festival names on your homepage. You can download complete exports with all available information at any time.
  • Your homepage also lists all teachers who have accounts from your School District. Please keep an eye on this list and feel free to remove teachers who no longer teach in your district. Don’t worry, it is not possible to delete a teacher who has students registered for a festival, so mistakes cant happen!
  • The billing page has been updated to include an itemized list of students and their associated fees.
    

• Festival Hosts: [Da Capo Festival Host Instructions]
  • New for 2021, Festival Hosts who are also Directors of Music (and Teachers) can link their three user accounts together – meaning that when you log in with any one of your account usernames, you can switch between your accounts with ease. Instructions can be found on this Google Doc.
  • The layout of the Create/Modify Festival page has been updated to be more user friendly.
    • NEW: If you have a festival that needs to be open to more than one zone, you can achieve that within the ‘Festival Customization & Access’ section of the page.
  • IMPORTANT: The website address, Student Username, and Student Password that is used to access the Music First Virtual Platform will be accessed by Teachers via the Playing Permit. The only way that a teacher can see the Playing Permit is by the Schedule being published. Efficiency requirements are in effect, so please collapse/combine rooms as usual. Please see this Google Doc for some tips.
  • IMPORTANT: The file that will be sent by you to Music First can be found in two locations. This file cannot be created until the schedule is complete and all students have been scheduled.
    • The Complete Export can be found on your Homepage directly beside the name of your festival. Click on the Blue Download icon beside the festival name.
    • The Complete Export can also be found on your Scheduling page. Click on the ‘Scheduling Time-Clock’ icon beside your festival’s name on your homepage. Then, click on ‘Complete Schedule and Labels’ in the main menu on the left. Then, click on the ‘Excel Download’ link near the top of this page.
  • Directors can now keep track of payments received from School Districts using the Da Capo platform, if you choose. This function can be found on the various ‘billing’ pages that are available to you.

• Thank you!
  • It was a pleasure working with educators throughout zones 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 during the first year of Da Capo, and I look forward to working with the rest of the state this year. Feel free to continue to reach out to me if you have any questions.
    
    
• Da Capo has also been hard at work developing:
  • A Musical Instrument Inventory Program (Da Capo Inventory)
  • A Technology Inventory Program (Da Capo Tech)
  • Area All-State Festival Management Programs
  • County Organization Membership Portals
  • Arts Organization and Professional Development Registration Platforms
  • Summer Music Management Programs

Da Capo Web Development is a Proud Institutional Member of NYSSMA and Commercial Member of SCMEA, supporting Music Education Throughout New York State and Suffolk County.