Category: Instruments in the Attic

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Community Outreach Events Instruments in the Attic

Instruments in the Attic: Instrument Drive

The first Mason Band Concert of the academic year will take place on Monday, October 17th at 7:30pm in Mason’s Center for The Arts Concert Hall, featuring the Mason Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony, conducted by the new Director of Concert Bands, Dr. William L. Lake, Jr.

Dr. Lake has sparked a partnership with MCAA’s Instruments in the Attic Program by initiating an Instrument Drive to be held at each of the Mason band concerts this year, beginning with his inaugural concert as Director of Concert Bands on 10/17. The next concert dates will be Mason Symphonic Band on 11/21 and Mason Wind Symphony on 12/1. Instruments can be dropped off at the MCAA table in the Center for The Arts lobby prior to each of these concerts, beginning at 7pm. A representative from MCAA will be there to facilitate donations and to answer any questions you may have.

Instruments in the Attic works to give donated instruments a new life by getting them into the hands of students and teachers in need. All donations to help us continue this mission are greatly appreciated! Any questions can be directed via email to Samantha Clarke, Coordinator of the Instruments in the Attic program at sclark55@gmu.edu. We hope you can join us at these concerts and that you consider donating any instruments you have that are no longer being used!

Tickets and more information can be found here: https://music.gmu.edu/events/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D670607084

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Community Outreach Instruments in the Attic

April 23rd Instruments In The Attic Gotcha Day A Resounding Success

Instrument Repair Workshop
Last Saturday, local music teachers joined Mason Community Arts Academy staff at Day Violins for a special IiA Gotcha Day, hosted by Day Violins owner and MCAA Board Member Jenna Day.
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Luthier Workshop
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As part of the event, luthier Ben Jones-Hayes led an excellent string instrument repair workshop for the teachers, demonstrating basic instrument repairs, teaching them solutions for instrument emergencies in the classroom, and discussing the intricacies of string instrument construction and restoration.
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Instrument Repair Event
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Afterwards, teachers shared ideas and thoughts on how IiA can continue to better serve our local schools’ string programs and the community. At the end of the event, string instruments from the IiA collection previously repaired by Day Violins technicians were made available for the teachers to take back to their string programs for students in need.
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Violin Repair Workshop
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Thanks so much to everyone involved in making this a great community event, especially Day Violins for hosting!

 

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Community Outreach Instruments in the Attic

Instruments Gotcha Day Provides Musical Support for Schools

MCAA’s instrument donation program, Instruments in the Attic, launched a new initiative providing needed instruments to area Title I schools, collaborating with Mason students from the Dewberry School of Music NAfME student organization and Day Violins.

“It’s really nice to get instrument donations that we can give to the students,” said Paul Erickson, a Fairfax County elementary school band teacher who has dedicated 22 years of his career to music education for young children. “Many of our students cannot afford to buy or rent an instrument from a store. Now, we could provide our students with the instruments. We appreciate Mason putting this together for us.”

 

The new initiative, Instruments Gotcha Day, aims to loan gently used instruments donated from the community to area’s schools that struggle to purchase instruments. Samantha Clarke, the community outreach coordinator at the Academy, who organized the inaugural Band Instrument Gotcha Day event, shared that the music educators who came to the event have a budget to repair but no funding to purchase instruments.

“They are in a difficult situation where they don’t have access to what they need for their students,” said Clarke, Mason doctoral student in conducting, who experienced funding challenges during her teaching career in New York. “We can provide these schools the access to more instruments through our Instruments in the Attic program. Schools can repair any instruments as needed to extend the lives of instruments so that more students can play an instrument for the first time.”

 

The Academy partnered with George Mason University Dewberry School of Music to plan the event with the support from Mason’s NAfME student organization and Day Violins to facilitate the recycling, repairs, and reuse process.

“We are proud to be a part of this initiative,” said Zoe Lamb, president of the Mason NAfME chapter and a music education graduate student. “It’s a great way to get music education students involved, and this is a great opportunity for everyone to get together and give back to the community.”

 

Weeks leading to the Gotcha Day event, Lamb and the Mason NAfME chapter members examined and cleaned all the band instruments before hundreds of instruments were displayed outside Day Violins. More than 15 local Title I school band directors, and music educators in Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudoun counties received 100+ instruments to support their program.

“This has become a dream come true for us,” said Jenna Day, owner of Day Violins and member of the Academy Advisory Board since 2008. Along with her husband, Jason Day, the couple has helped the Academy repair all the string instruments at the Day Violins, a family-owned string instrument shop in Chantilly, Virginia.

 

“We have a large number of instruments donated by the community that need to be in the hands of students,” said Jenna. “I put my passion into making sure all the instruments are repaired and the community people get them. This is an amazing program.”

Established in 2008, Instruments in the Attic has received more than 1,100 instruments from community members. The program has loaned out 600+ instruments to schools and individuals and supported school band and orchestra programs. Instrument petting zoo programs were held in various preschools and community events. More than 100 instruments were delivered to underdeveloped regions to help them establish their music programs, including El Salvador, Haiti, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Africa.

 

Another Gotcha Day is slated for spring 2022, with an emphasis on string instruments and guitars. To support our new initiative, please consider donating gently used instruments to the program or contributing to the Instruments in the Attic fund to support instrument repair and program expenses.

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Community Outreach Instruments in the Attic Music

Jazz Artist Leaves A Musical Legacy

Vibraphone Donation to Mason

The Academy was recently honored to receive a very special donation of a jazz vibraphone (“vibes”) set. The instrument belonged to late local Jazz musician and DC native Charlie Barden. His surviving family members’ thoughtful gift, which will be used in the Mason School of Music Jazz department, pays homage to his musical legacy.

Charlie Barden lived a vibrant life as a musician, composer/ arranger, visual artist, Navy medical technician, businessman, and family man. Through the years, Mr. Barden performed many gigs throughout the DC area, often headlining with the Charlie Barden Trio. He also performed with groups that included Danny Gatton, Allen Houser, Steve Jordan, Mort Langstaff, Van Perry, Robert Redd, Bob Southee, Brooks Tegler, and Paul Wingo. He was also a recording artist, appearing on or creating several CDs.

One of Mr. Barden’s daughters, Kate Sampogna (pictured above), contacted the Academy with the donation offer and provided a very detailed description of the instrument along with loving words about her father: “It is a full-sized Leedy Vibraharp from 1935, nearly all original . They are the exact same model that Lionel Hampton was using when he joined Benny Goodman’s band in the mid to late 1930’s. The bars on the vibes are original and intact, and this is crucial, because they are the original aluminum bars, and thus the tone is “period-correct” for the late 30’s Benny Goodman/Charlie Christian sound. You can’t get this sound from modern vibes as the modern bars are made of different materials.”

Mason School of Music Jazz Professor James Carroll (pictured above) was extremely grateful for the donation. Coordinating with Academy staff, he arranged for the placement of the instrument in the School, specifically to be used in study and performance by Jazz students at the university. “This is all about musical legacy,” commented Professor Carroll. “What a special gift!”

Although bittersweet, the Barden family finds great solace knowing that their father’s musical legacy will live on, as emerging jazz musicians practice and perform on this instrument for many years to come.

 

Donated vibraphone plus artwork
Pictured above: vibraphone set plus artwork by Charlie Barden

 

Mr. Barden’s surviving adult children were kind enough to share some of their fondest memories of their dad and growing up in a musical family:

  • “When he used to play New Year’s Eve parties and bring us home the party hats when we were kids.”
  • “Dad and Mom pushing the vibes up Massachusetts Avenue to the Historic Trust Building where Dad had a gig. The only parking they could find was several blocks away, so they put together the vibe pieces by the parked car and then pushed the vibes to the Trust.”
  • “Dad being introduced to Danny Gatton through our brother Joe and ending up as one of the musicians on one of Danny’s albums.”
  • “Dad playing with a group at Blues Alley.”
  • “Dad putting together a group and providing the music for many museum exhibit opening receptions at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History.”
  • “Dad gathered some of his music friends and played my wedding reception.”
  • “In his mid 80’s, Dad deciding to compose some original pieces and then cut a CD of them at a recording studio in Alexandria–this provided the music on the website.” (see below)

 

To learn more about Charlie Barden’s life, legacy and music, you can visit his former website at
www.charliebarden.com

 

 

The Academy would like to express a heartfelt thank you to Mr. Barden’s family for their gift. As with all donations to our Instruments in the Attic program, we are committed to placing lovingly used musical instruments into the hands of music students in need and recycling the love of music.

 

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Community Outreach Instruments in the Attic Music

Academy Sends Flutes To School In Nairobi

Nairobi schoolgirl with donated flute

The Academy was thrilled to send a small selection of flutes, all of which had been donated through our Instruments in the Attic program, to a high school for girls in Nairobi, Kenya. As part of a larger music education initiative led by Mason School of Music Professor Lisa Billingham, the delivery of the flutes was accompanied by new recorders provided by West Music.

The recent trip was made possible by a GEO Global Discovery Grant awarded to George Mason University. Mr. Leonard Wekesa, a music teacher at the State House Girls High School which accommodates around 500 girls, was responsible for the invitation to Nairobi.

 

Nairobi schoolgirls with donated flutes

 

“When we arrived at the school, we realized that they only had two guitars – both with broken or missing strings. Along with the flutes and recorders already delivered, we have sent new guitar strings,” said Dr. Billingham.  “In March 2019, I will return to Nairobi with members of our University Chorale to continue our work in the area of music education, including a workshop with their choir. We look forward to continuing to build relationships with teachers in Nairobi and appreciate the contributions from the Instruments in the Attic program that allow us to share a larger scope of music education.”

We will continue to share more updates on this wonderful initiative as it moves forward!

 

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