Give the gift of music!! I teach in a Chicago Public School. Our music program is growing at an amazing rate, however, we don't have the resources for new instruments. I have 260 students in the program and only 110 functioning instruments. Much of our inventory is 30+ years old and beyond repair.
My students are amazing!
They come into high school with no musical training (as our feeder schools do not offer music) and in four years or less, many of them are in the position to continue playing at the collegiate level. They welcome new challenges and work as hard as they can to help keep our program afloat. Almost everybody shares instruments which makes taking them home to practice very challenging. I have as many as five students sharing the same instrument! That is unfair and I wish I could do more for these amazing children. This is why I'm here!
My Project
I am hoping there is somebody on this website who has amazing memories of being a high school band member. Maybe the first thing that comes to mind was a great performance or just all the friends you made (many of which you still keep in contact with perhaps). I want my students to have these same memories as we had. Sadly, due to a very limited and aging instrument inventory, students from families with with rough economic backgrounds and a school whose budget does not have room for new instruments, the number of students I can involve in my program is limited. Please help us purchase 20 trumpet mouthpieces.
With the purchase of these mouthpieces, I can have as many as 20 more students participate in my band program. I am not a fan of sharing instruments, however, it is a necessary evil in my situation. This will give 20 students the ability to safely share trumpets with students in other classes while having their own mouthpiece to practice buzzing exercises on outside of class.
I can't tell you why this project is more important than others because each teacher posting on this site thinks their project is the most important (and rightfully so).
I can tell you why this is important to me.
I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for being in band since I was 10. I learned every life lesson (teamwork, responsibility, leadership and many others) as a member of a variety of musical ensembles growing up. All I want to do is give my students the same experiences I had.
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