Making beautiful music is costly. This group is instrumental in helping students
.jpeg "Emery Edwards, plays the viola at his school and in the Olathe Youth Symphony. Thanks to Band of Angels, Emery now has his own viola to play.")
Emery Edwards found a path to academic success at Olathe East High School.
Music, he says, makes his mind sharper. Emery, 15, plays the viola in freshman orchestra and in the Olathe Youth Symphony.
Practicing pieces and committing musical notes to memory have taught him discipline and memorization — skills useful in taking tests and in tackling homework without procrastinating.
He began playing the viola in fifth-grade orchestra by renting an instrument from the school. But turning the viola in at the end of the school year meant summer months without being able to play.
That’s when his mother, Janelle Withee, heard about Band of Angels and Emery was given a viola to call his own.
“My viola is special,” Emery said. “Without it, I might not have pursued music. As long as I stick with music, I can keep the viola until I graduate from high school.”
Used musical instruments are donated to the program and employees at Meyer Music, one of the program’s sponsors, repair and refurbish them.
Due to the emphasis on quality, only about 50% of the instruments donated can be restored to playing order, said Mike Meyer, founder of Band of Angels.
But nothing is wasted. The instruments that can’t be played come to life again in the hands of visual artists who see elephants in drums and cymbals, for example, and a hummingbird in violins. These whimsical works of art then are sold at a summer fundraiser, Art That Blows.
As for the usable instruments, once they are restored to playing order, they are given to students who can’t afford to buy or rent a quality instrument for school music programs.
Instruments are expensive. For example, a beginner clarinet made of plastic with nickel-plated keys averages $900 to $1,000. A professional clarinet made of wood with silver-plated keys can cost $4,000, Meyer said.
Damian Johnson, band director for Eudora High School and Middle School, compares starter instruments to “playing with training wheels.”
Once a student has the experience and skills for an advanced instrument, it may be too expensive for the family budget. Johnson’s daughter, Jada, was given a trombone through Band of Angels because “a step-up instrument was out of our price range,” Johnson said.
“This trombone is a lot fancier,” said Jada, 13, an eighth-grader. “It sounds different.”
As the only trombone player in the band, Jada said she sometimes finds herself in the spotlight with unintentional solos.
Students apply online. Although the donated instruments come from a 100-mile radius around Kansas City, applications come in from across the country.
“There is no geographical border for the program,” Meyer said. “We sent an instrument to South Carolina this year, for example.”
Since the program began in 2009, some 3,000 students have been given instruments. More than 550 have received scholarships to attend summer music camps or college.
“We want students to be successful in class,” Meyer said. “We match the student with the right instrument.”
The quality of the instrument makes a difference in the musical experience for the student. When students compete for all-district or all-state band or orchestra, the sound produced by the instrument influences who will be chosen.
Inexpensive, poorly designed instruments will limit what a student can do. If clarinet keys stick or the strings on a cello are too high or the bow is poor quality, for example, the instrument is creating hurdles for students to overcome.
“Instruments from Band of Angels produce a good sound, make it easier for a student to learn and are much nicer to perform with,” said Michael Hanf, director of orchestras at Olathe East High School.
Joe Keeney, orchestra director at Lee’s Summit North High School and Bernard Campbell Middle School, compares the difference in quality to “running a marathon in sandals versus a good pair of running shoes.”
As a director, Keeney said he appreciates the Band of Angels program “because I can go through the school year without worrying about a kid in need.”
For more informatio on Band of Angels, located at 11890 W. 135th St. in Overland Park, go to www.bandofangels.org