Category: Instruments in the Attic

IiA Gifts 33 Instruments to Local Non-Profit

Post author By Regina Schneider
Post date February 26, 2026

Instruments in the Attic (IiA) recently provided instruments to the Culmore Teen Center, based in Falls Church, Virginia.

The Culmore Teen Center is partnered with Second Story, a local non-profit organization that “transforms the lives of local youth and families in need by providing safe havens and opportunities to grow and thrive through our residential and community-based programs…We help families in underserved communities in Fairfax County through our family resource centers, teen center, and after-school programs.”

IiA was able to provide a total of 33 instruments: six acoustic guitars, five trumpets, five trombones, five tenor saxophones, five electric basses, three upright basses, two keyboards, one electric guitar, and one drum set.

Instruments in the Attic

IiA Provides 42 Instruments to Non-Profit Waldorf-Inspired school

Post author By Regina Schneider
Post date February 17, 2026

The Academy’s Instruments in the Attic (IiA) program collects instruments and equipment donated from the public to help support music teachers, students, and organizations.

Courtney Janeski, volunteer drums and percussion teacher for grades 7–12 at Hearthstone School, contacted the Academy to request instruments for their school.

Located in Sperryville, the Hearthstone School is a “small, independent, non-profit Waldorf-inspired school.” Janeski writes:

Hearthstone School serves students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Our mission is to honor the whole child — heart, head, and hands — through a holistic, creative, and inclusive educational environment. Music plays a vital role in that mission, offering our students a powerful way to connect, communicate, and express themselves.

As a largely volunteer-run program with no dedicated budget for instruments or repairs, we face the challenge of providing meaningful musical opportunities for every child despite our limited resources.

In the lower grades, students begin their musical journey with the pentatonic scale, following a Waldorf-inspired approach that nurtures natural musical development and emotional expression. Pentatonic instruments — such as flutes and lyres — are in very high need, as our current collection is small and aging.

In grades 4–6, students are introduced to the violin, deepening their understanding of melody, harmony, and ensemble playing. Our current violins are quite old and in disrepair.

In the high school grades (9-12), I lead two student rock bands in our own “school of rock,” where music becomes a powerful outlet for emotional expression, creativity, teamwork, and confidence. Our percussion equipment is extremely vintage and in dire need of repair or replacement.

We’re pleased to have provided the Hearthstone School with 42 instruments: 12 acoustic guitars, 7 cymbals, 7 violins, 7 electric guitars, 4 amplifiers, 3 small harps, 1 pair of claves, and 1 lyre.

Community Outreach Instruments in the Attic

Instrument Petting Zoo

Post author By Regina Schneider
Post date October 27, 2025

MCAA staff greeted over 600 children and their families for our recent pre-show Instrument Petting Zoo at George Mason’s Center for the Arts (CFA)!

Assisted by students from the Kappa Kappa Psi music fraternity, we introduced audience members to the instruments that would later be used by performers in the Laurie Berkner Band.

We look forward to returning to the CFA for more lobby pre-show activities in Spring 2026!

Tags Ariel Williams, Lucas Kremer

Community Outreach Instruments in the Attic

“Shoutout to Mason Community Arts Academy For Their Donation”

Post author By Regina Schneider
Post date April 10, 2025

Community Outreach Instruments in the Attic

MCAA Congratulates GRAMMY Award winner and Instruments in the Attic Recipient Annie Ray

Post author By Regina Schneider
Post date February 23, 2024
Sticky post

Throughout its existence, Mason Community Arts Academy’s Instruments in the Attic (IiA) Program has had the pleasure of providing recycled instruments to teachers and students in Northern Virginia, the DMV, as well as throughout the United States and abroad, in addition to serving our local community here. Our goal is always to get our inventory into the hands of those that need it, and thanks to the generosity of donors, we are able to continuously fulfill our mission and provide teachers with the instruments and supplies they need to create a lasting impact through music education. As a result, we have been fortunate to connect and develop lasting relationships with incredible and inspiring teachers in our local community and beyond.

Two of IiA’s main supporters are Jenna and Jason Day, of Day Violins. Their immense generosity, tireless dedication to our program and its mission, and unending willingness to volunteer their time makes all of IiA’s string instrument loans possible. They are a critical piece of IiA’s impact and existence, and their connection to the community both locally and afar has allowed our program to broaden its reach and strengthen its influence.

In 2022, Jenna Day connected Annie Ray (Annandale High School Orchestra Director and Performing Arts Chair) with IiA after learning that her program’s need of instruments was hindering the aspirations and goals she had for her students. Ray had goals of starting the Crescendo Orchestra for students with severe developmental and intellectual disabilities. Her goal was to teach these students how to play an instrument with one-on-one instruction tailored to their needs, and she was seeking the inventory to be able to make it happen.

There are people that come into your life that touch your heart instantly and so deeply that you are a better person forever. Annie Ray’s positive attitude and ability to always see the potential in others has motivated me to reach deeper and further into the community to bless lives with IIA instruments. Through my involvement with the Crescendo Orchestra, I have been reminded that music is the universal language, one we can all speak.
Jenna Day, describing Annie Ray

The Crescendo Orchestra is among Annie Ray’s many accomplishments and endeavors through which she changes her students’ lives for the better. On February 3, 2024, Ray was presented with the 2024 GRAMMY Music Educator Award. Annie Ray was selected as the GRAMMY winner out of more than 2,000 initial nominees and was honored in Los Angeles as a part of GRAMMY Week.

I am honored to have received this award on behalf of the students of Annandale, Crescendo, and Parent Orchestras who every day teach me so much more than I will ever teach them. This award belongs not to me, but the community of musicians, teachers, and supporting organizations that make our program what it is. Thank you especially to Instruments in the Attic for supplying the instruments to Crescendo Orchestra that give our students access to music making. I encourage directors to look into the resources of United Sound, Giving Bach, String Rise, and other organizations so every student can have the opportunity to be a part of our ensembles.
Annie Ray

Mason Community Arts Academy and Instruments in the Attic extend our sincerest congratulations to Annie Ray and her students on this incredible accomplishment. We are fortunate to have educators like Ms. Ray in our community and look forward to continued collaboration.

Written by Dr. Samantha Clarke
Edited by Regina Schneider