Music Teacher Melanie Hawthorne Long has a new sound in her bandroom this year. A tuba! Long won a drawing for a tuba at last year's Bringing Music to Life Instrument Giveaway, and now she has three students playing what's often described as the "sub-woofer" of the brass section, with more students on the waiting list.
"It’s wonderful to be put at ease knowing that I don’t have to have as much pressure moving forward in my program, having to say 'no' to as many students who are interested in trying tuba," says Long. "I can always let up to three students try it, which opens up more opportunities, and also makes our band that much better. I’m so thankful for Bringing Music to Life."
Long's students at Horizon Middle School in Colorado Springs, a Title I School, play a tuba that was donated last year to the Bringing Music to Life Instrument Drive. In fact, three tubas were donated last year.
Executive Director Steve Holley says repairing an existing tuba is a fraction of the cost of a new tuba. A new student tuba costs $5,000, while repairing a donated one is typically $650. Similarly, a flute costs $300 to repair compared to $1200 for a new one.
So whether you have a tuba in your basement, a flute in your closet or a guitar underneath your bed, it's time to dust off that old instrument and donate it to the Bringing Music to Life Instrument Drive. They will make sure the instrument gets repaired and into the hands of a deserving student.
Just look at the organization's track record. Over the past 14 years, BTML has:
- Collected and repaired over 9500 instruments
- Donated instruments to 360 Colorado Schools
- Given 25,000 Colorado students the opportunity to learn an instrument
The instruments they have donated over the years, if bought new, would be valued at over $10 million! Instead, these students get to use these instruments without having to incur the cost of renting them, a fee most parents in Title I schools can't afford.
This year's Instrument Drive is being held from March 23 to April 5.
If you have a gently used band or orchestra instrument you’re not playing anymore, consider donating it so a child in Colorado can fall in love with music. That instrument could be used for many years, even decades, in a school music program.
Ways to Donate:
All gently used band and orchestra instruments are accepted. Instruments in the highest demand are: baritone horns, baritone saxophones, cellos, double basses, tenor saxophones, tubas, and violas.
Pianos, accordions, banjos, autoharps, recorders and other instruments generally not used in a school band or orchestra program are not accepted.
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