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NORTHGLENN, Colo. (KDVR) — A classical musician has developed a cover for instruments that she hopes will allow students of music to once again, play together. 

Maddie Levinson loves the French horn. “It’s beautiful. It’s the best instrument out there,” she said.

She has been playing the horn since eighth grade. Now, she’s the principal horn for the Longmont Symphony, a coveted position. “I auditioned against 20 other horn players to get it, so you got to be on your game,” Levinson said.

When COVID-19 and the lockdowns hit, for Levinson, it was the day the music died. “The New York Phil (Philharmonic) is paying salaries until the end of the semester, they’ve canceled spring semester, the Nutcracker at the Met was canceled for the first time in 40 years,” she said.

For high school, college and symphony bands, playing music with others became a thing of the past.
Of all the skill sets Levinson has, sewing is another one. She has been a seamstress all her life, and had an idea.

“So this is it, it’s the French horn bell cover, 82% nylon, 18% spandex blend,” Levinson said.

Levinson did not invent the horn cover or mask, but says she has improved them and calls them her Mad Horn Bell PPE and Mad Music Masks.

“So the sound isn’t much different with the cover and that’s what my goal was,” she said.

For many schools, the masks and covers are the first step to get the band back together. At about $10 a cover, it’s a pretty inexpensive way, she says, to put music back into life.