Category: Community Outreach

On Saturday, April 8th, the Academy’s Instruments in the Attic program presented an Instrument Petting Zoo for local families at the Hylton Performing Arts Center.

The demonstration was among several kid-friendly activities at the Friends of the Hylton Center’s first annual Family Fête event. Attendees of all ages took the opportunity to view, touch, and play the string, brass, and woodwind instruments on display, taken from our current stock of donated musical instruments.

Mason School of Music Doctoral students Jeremy Cochran and Joel Graham were on hand to supervise, demonstrate, and answer questions about the instruments. “It’s great to see kids who are just about at that age when they might join band or begin taking music lessons come to an instrument petting zoo,” Jeremy said. “They usually leave with a much better idea of what peaks their interest and inspires them.”

 

 

The Academy presents several Instrument Petting Zoos throughout the year at various community events. Be on the lookout for the next one, try your hand at playing an instrument, and let your kids explore their musical interests!

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT INSTRUMENTS IN THE ATTIC

 

Our Mason student “International Teaching Scholars” recently took part in a fascinating instrument repair workshop with Jason and Jenna Day of Day Violins, as they prepare for their Costa Rica trip in May.

On March 21st, the six “International Teaching Scholars” and several Mason staff visited Day Violins for an evening of instrument repair insights and instrument packing/ shipping logistics. After a short tour of the Day Violins facility (located in Chantilly, VA), the group enjoyed a workshop on basic instrument repair of a violin led by Jason Day. They learned the different parts of the instrument, how to tell a more expensive instrument from a less expensive, and what to look for when fixing an instrument (such as a warped bridge, seam cracks, etc.).

 

 

They also took a violin apart and put it back together again, including the strings, bridge, pegs, tailpiece, etc. , and they were given the opportunity to set a sound post- not an easy task!

At the end of the evening, the group was shown where and how the instruments would be packed for shipping to Costa Rica, and the students even had the chance to help get an instrument ready to send.

 

 

“These young women caught on very quickly and they now have enough knowledge to help out in the [Costa Rican] schools with minor repairs, if needed,” said Jason Day.

“I was impressed with the experiences the students have already had to prepare them for this trip,” said Jenna Day. “They were well-chosen and work together well. This is going to be an amazing trip, not only for them, but for everyone involved!”

“In preparing for the upcoming outreach initiative to Costa Rica, the International Teaching Scholars had a great time and learned a ton about how to help assess and do some minor repairs to string instruments that may need some ‘tender loving care’ when working with the music students in Costa Rica,” explained Potomac Arts Academy Director Libby Curtis. “Thank you to Day Violins for providing this incredibly helpful (and fun) session!”

A few days later, Instruments in the Attic Coordinator Jeremy Cochran (a Doctoral candidate at Mason’s School of Music) sorted, prepared and labeled the IiA instruments bound for Costa Rica, which will be shipped out before the trip in May.

 

 

As an extra special touch, young students from the Potomac Arts Academy wrote colorful and encouraging little notes to their Costa Rican counterparts, which were placed inside the instrument cases.

 

 

“There’s just something about the Instruments in the Attic program and being able to provide instruments to those less fortunate that just touches my heart and makes me want to keep changing the world one instrument at a time!” exclaimed Jenna Day.

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COSTA RICA OUTREACH INITIATIVE

 

Birthdays are a great time to enjoy receiving gifts and celebrating with family and friends. For one special young girl named Sophie, turning 7 meant inviting friends to a fun-filled party and asking them to bring musical instrument donations!

Sophie’s mom said that their family has established a tradition of requesting donations for a good cause in lieu of presents for birthdays. When she learned of Sophie’s desire to follow that tradition for her 7th birthday, she began searching around for ideas. Fortunately for us, she came across our Instruments in the Attic outreach program, where gently used musical instruments are donated by community members, and the Academy finds ways and means to repair or refurbish the instruments as needed, and gets them into the hands of underserved students.

“The idea that our donated musical instruments would help provide musical opportunities for kids with little to no music education access really drew me in,” said Sophie’s mom, “Plus, Sophie loves the ‘School of Rock’ show and music in general.” In fact, Sophie’s birthday party had a “School of Rock” theme!

Sophie’s mom called the Academy to share their idea, and staff member Candy Neukam guided them on types of instruments to suggest. After a festive birthday party with 12 friends, Sophie and her mom came in with 4 bags of Early Childhood instruments, including bongos, finger cymbals, hand bells and more!

When Ms. Neukam asked Sophie what her friends thought of the idea, she said “They thought it was cool.” Sophie’s mom also mentioned that the Guitar Center offered discounts to the birthday party kids to encourage their efforts. We at the Academy think this is pretty cool, too! Thanks to Sophie, her mom, and everyone involved for making such a generous, thoughtful donation and for spreading the love of music to the community.

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR OUTREACH PROGRAMS