Aspiring band students within these school districts are at times unable to get ahold of the instrument they’re so passionate about playing for school. Tri-M’s upcoming instrument donation drive – created by Tri-M president senior Joseph Cain and members of the Tri-M executive board such as senior Killian Daron – hopes to solve this problem.
“This donation drive is a little more focused on helping the school districts of New Hampshire and helping them better their equipment,” Cain said. “So if [someone] was in Souhegan and [they] had a bass clarinetist who didn’t have a bass clarinet or didn’t own one that was good, they could find one via our donation drive.”
This donation drive will include school districts all over New Hampshire in order to collect and log unused instruments so students and schools can have access to them.
“There are two stages to this plan. The first stage is kind of getting the word out and letting the community know we’re collecting instruments,” Cain said, “the second stage of it is creating a website to act as an instrument bank.”
The Tri-M members have been working to get the word out to everyone they can.
“I’m actually a little worried about that,” Cain said. “I don’t think a lot of people in the school will donate but this is supposed to be a whole community event, not just the school districts. Hopefully we can get the word out to local newspapers.”
The hope for this project is to be able to come together as a state to provide instruments for the schools that need them.
“I’d say my biggest goal would be that schools that don’t have much equipment can get the equipment they need,” Cain said. “Especially the kids that are passionate about playing instruments that aren’t as widely available like oboes, bassoons, or English horns and stuff like that.”
The donation drive’s goal is to provide for the students who don’t have all the opportunities other students have.
“I’m hoping that kids that don’t have the money to afford instruments can benefit from this drive and be able to get the same opportunities that everyone else gets,” senior Killian Daron said.
This donation drive has been in the works since November of last year by the Tri-M executive board and the drive is set to be on March 16 in the main lobby of LHS from 9am to 12pm.
“I’d really like to see a great turn out,” Cain said. “Please come donate your band and orchestra instruments.”