If You Donate, They Will Play

The Star Tribune had a great article Sunday about how more schools in Minnesota are supplying band and orchestra instruments to students who couldn’t otherwise afford them.  As a result, more students are participating, and the ensembles are becoming more representative of the student body in terms of diversity and income levels.

(I would include a link to the story, but it’s one of the Star Tribune's new Premium articles only available online to subscribers.  If you're already a subscriber, you can view the story online after entering your account information.  Otherwise, if you have access to a print copy of the Sunday paper, look on the front of the twin cities + life section for the article, “Not Tooting Their Own Horns.”)

Sometimes schools own a few instruments – bigger, expensive ones like baritones, French horns and tubas – that students can use.  But usually students are expected to buy or rent their own instruments.  This can get pricey, especially if you have more than one child in band or orchestra.  According to the news story, because not everyone can afford the monthly rental payments on a new or used instrument, some directors are acquiring more instruments – either by buying them or by seeking donations – and then renting them to students for a low annual fee.

Louisa, second from left, marching with other members of the Northfield High School Band during the Defeat of Jesse James Days parade.  If we didn’t already own a French horn, she’d probably use one owned by the school.

The Minnesota Music Educators Association has shown an interest in this issue lately; it partnered with Minnesota Public Radio’s classical station last April on a Play it Forward drive that resulted in the donation of more than 600 band and orchestra instruments to 300 schools.  Another drive is planned for spring 2011.

I think it’s a great idea to make instruments more available, so anyone who’s interested in playing has the chance to learn.  The affordability of instruments has been an issue for band directors at least since since my great-grandfather G. Oliver Riggs directed his first band in the mid-1880s.  Throughout his career, he worked at getting instruments into people’s hands, and from 1926-28, he worked for instrument manufacturer C.G. Conn, which got heavily involved in the national school band movement beginning in 1923.

My great-grandfather, G. Oliver Riggs, is pictured in this Conn advertisement; he’s in the middle row, on the far left.

G. Oliver and his wife, Islea, on a business trip in 1927.  G. Oliver organized school bands for Conn from 1926-28.  If you look closely, you can see the Conn sign in the window of the car.

G. Oliver’s last band directing job was at Red Lake High School.  At the time of his death, in January 1946, he had been so successful in organizing the high school’s first band that there weren’t enough instruments for all the students who wanted to play.  He explained this in the last letter he wrote to my grandfather, Ronald:

“I have 47 boys and girls signed for band.

Now here is a problem for you to figure out for me,  47 members and 26 instruments.  I got a much larger band than [Superintendent] Ose thought possible.

At present we are having more than one taking their instruction on one instrument.  He (Supt) appears to be afraid of his school board or someone else.  He cooperates with me fine on most things.

I have made a request for enough instruments to supply each band member with an instrument.  Mr. Thorson has been of great help to me and after my Thur (3 to 4) meeting made a written report to the Supt. And I think Mr. Ose sees the situation differently now.”

Although there are days when my kids would gladly give their instruments to someone else so they can skip practicing, we don’t have any extra instruments to donate at the moment.  Sebastian rents his viola from a local business, String Solutions, and he has a nice Bach trumpet we’re purchasing on Schmitt Music’s rent-to-own plan.  Louisa plays a French horn that Steve and I bought on eBay several years ago.  Steve and I both played French horn in high school, and I played for two years in college, but neither one of us had ever owned our own horn.  We’d always played horns owned by the school.

I hope anyone out there who does have a flute, clarinet or other instrument gathering dust in the closet will consider donating it to a worthy music program in their area, so more kids have the chance to express themselves through music and learn skills that will benefit them into adulthood.

For more information, you can call the Minnesota Music Educators Association at 763-566-1460.