Donation can help Austin bands to ‘Play It Forward’
Published 9:55 am Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Austin High School band director Bradley Mariska leads a rehearsal of the wind ensemble in April. Mariska is preparing for the 2013-14 school year and is asking for donations to help buy instruments. Herald file photo
By Bradley Mariska
AHS Band Director
This fall, enrollment in the Austin Public Schools band program will be higher than it’s been in decades. More than 160 fifth-graders have signed up to join the band, the music rooms at Ellis Middle School and Austin High School are packed with budding young musicians. Austin has always valued its music education programs, and the schools boasts band, orchestra and choir programs of which everyone can be extremely proud.
Despite the large numbers of students who play instruments, there are many local families who don’t have the means to provide an instrument for their child. Each fall, we scramble to get trombones, French horns, and saxophones in the hands of our youngest students; they don’t have to be fancy, they just have to work. And up at the high school level, we have talented musicians interested in specialized instruments like bassoon, bass clarinet, and bari sax — of which a single one can cost $5,000.
Fortunately, there is a lot the community can do to help our growing program. We are reaching out to community members who want to help “Play It Forward” by donating used instruments or making cash donations to help the band. Many of you have old flutes, clarinets, trumpets, and violins in closets and basements doing nothing more than collecting dust. Why not give that instrument a second life? You have the satisfaction of knowing that your contribution is bringing a whole new world of musical discovery to a budding band or orchestra student, but we can also provide you with an appraisal form that can be submitted for a tax deduction.
And you don’t have to have an alto sax in your attic to help: cash donations are always accepted. In fact, several instruments have been purchased in the past two years paid for exclusively by the generous support of individuals and community organizations.
My students will be the first to tell you that I love a good pun, so I do hope our “Play It Forward” campaign sticks in your mind as we head back to school. There is a real need for new and used band instruments in Austin, and that’s no joke.
Mariska is director of bands at Austin High School. He can be reached at bradley.mariska@austin.k12.mn.us or at 507-460-1800 ext. 0526)
