Bringing Music to Life to host 12th annual band instrument donation drive
DENVER — Bringing Music to Life, a local organization that provides underserved students with band instruments through donations, is hosting their 12th annual instrument drive this month.
What began as a request for donations from Colorado Public Radio host Steve Blatt in 2010 is now a yearly instrument drive hosted by Bringing Music to Life that benefits students and schools who are unable to afford the high cost of band instruments.
This year’s instrument drive will be hosted March 7-20, according to a press release from the organization. Anyone with a gently used band instrument they’d like to donate can drop off their instrument at any one of the 17 offered drop-off locations. The program is seeking “band and orchestra instruments in good condition, including strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, guitars and electronic keyboards.”
Brook Ferguson, the principal flutist for the Colorado Symphony, promoted the instrument drive, explaining that a donated instrument is what got her hooked on music as a kid.
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If you’d rather contribute financially, the organization is also accepting monetary donations to help offset the cost of repairs to the donated instruments.
All of the donated instruments will be repaired by technicians at the Colorado Institute of Musical Instrument Technology and Boomer Music Company in Fort Collins. Donated instruments will be ready to find new homes at deserving school programs before the start of the 2022-23 academic school year.
“Study after study shows the positive impact that learning music has on children,” Blatt said in the press release. “Their listening skills improve, as well as creative thinking, self-discipline and self-esteem. Students learn the value of persevering and how to work with others toward a common goal. We’re excited about reaching even more children, schools, and communities this year.”
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, last year’s drive awarded 597 donated instruments to 41 music programs across the state.
In over a decade, Bringing Music to Life estimates that over 17,000 students have been able to learn music with a donated instrument.
Schools with a majority of students enrolled in free or reduced lunch programs are encouraged to apply to the program now through March 31 via the online application form.
Bringing Music to Life will then match qualified schools with donated instruments.