Mason Community Arts Academy
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Instruments in the Attic

IiA Provides 11 Instruments to Shenandoah Valley Academy

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Andrés Mendoza, SVA band director (left) with Lucas Kremer, coordinator of music programs and outreach (right)

Shenandoah Valley Academy (SVA) is a Seventh-Day Adventist college preparatory school located in New Market, Virginia. SVA has a comprehensive music program that includes six large ensembles and two academic courses. Private lesson study is also highly encouraged and is offered through their program.

Academy staff member, Allison Erdelyi, an alum of SVA (class of 2021), connected Lucas Kremer, coordinator of music programs and outreach, with Laura Hoffman, a music teacher at the elementary school. Hoffman expressed a need for several instruments for their high school band program, including a few less commonly requested instruments, through the Academy’s Instruments in the Attic donation program. Kremer then coordinated the pickup with SVA’s band director, Andrés Mendoza. Instruments in the Attic provided SVA with 11 instruments: two piccolos, two flutes, two bass clarinets, two alto saxophones, one baritone saxophone, and two trombones.

We hope that these instruments will help to balance out their band program’s instrumentation for years to come!

Written by Lucas Kremer
Edited by Regina Schneider

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Instruments in the Attic

Eagle Scout Instruments in the Attic Project

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At the Academy building, a normally quiet Saturday in March was filled with the sounds of drills, stairs creaking with Boy Scouts and parents moving instruments up and down, and voices echoing with instructions, chatter, and laughter. Scouts from Troop 1865 were working on a project led by Robinson High School sophomore, Brendan Williamson.

Initial Outreach

Brendan initially reached out to our previous Instruments in the Attic Coordinator, Dr. Samantha Clarke, to inquire about the possibility of supporting IiA through his Eagle Scout project. Even though this was after she had left the Academy, Samantha was still periodically checking her George Mason University email at the time. She then passed the message along to Executive Director Mary Lechter and Coordinator of Music Programs and Outreach, Lucas Kremer. Lucas reached out to Brendan to set up a meeting to visit the Academy facilities and discuss ideas for the project.

Logging and tagging instruments
Cleaning instruments
Parents working on the storage shelves

From the initial meeting, Mary and Lucas were immediately impressed by Brendan’s ideas for the project, as well as his openness to their thoughts on what would be most beneficial to IiA. Throughout the planning and execution phases of the project, he showed incredible initiative, leadership, and attention to detail beyond his years.

Brendan’s Experience

Brendan writes about his experience around the project:

“Many old instruments sitting unused in attics, basements, or closets go overlooked. But each one has the potential to inspire a new musician who otherwise might not have access to musical education. Through my Eagle Scout project with Instruments in the Attic, I helped them collect, clean and refurbish these instruments so they could find homes with aspiring musicians.

I chose Instruments in the Attic for my eagle scout project because I am a violist at Robinson High School who is passionate about music and musical education. I wanted to help others acquire the opportunity to have a quality education like mine. I had heard about IiA from an adult in my troop, and I immediately knew that I wanted to do my project with them.

For my project, I reached out to local music stores, students at my school, and members of my scout troop for donations. My efforts were successful. I was able to collect 30 instruments for the organization. The next phase of my project included constructing new shelves to improve instrument storage capacity, and designing an online inventory system to make it easier for IiA to process requests for instruments, and see what repairs each instrument needs before it is ready to be sent out.

Managing the multiple aspects of the project, including instrument cleaning, logging items into the inventory system, and shelf construction, simultaneously was difficult, but rewarding. Thankfully, I had lots of support from my scout troop and friends, so we were able to successfully execute the project. I would definitely recommend a similar project to anyone who is interested in helping out the musical community. Having the opportunity to make a positive impact, especially in an area that you are passionate about, is an incredible experience, and I am so lucky to have been able to work with the wonderful people at Instruments in the Attic and the Mason Arts Community Academy.”

Brendan (right) with IiA founder and Academy Board Member J.P. Phaup (left)

New IiA Inventory System

Thanks to the efforts of Brendan and his team of 24 volunteers, IiA now has increased functionality in our storage room and a brand-new inventory system. The Academy and IiA are incredibly appreciative of everyone’s time and effort into this project!

Through our Instruments in the Attic program, we are able to assist in providing instruments to students and teachers around the Northern Virginia area, the country, and beyond! Read more stories on IiA and find out how you can support our mission.

Written by Lucas Kremer, Brendan Williamson, Regina Schneider
Edited by Regina Schneider

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Instruments in the Attic

Instruments in the Attic Provides 73 Instruments to Support Guatemala Schools

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Mark Denicore cofounded the non-profit organization, Changing Latitudes, to “raise awareness and funds for the less fortunate.” The Academy and Instruments in the Attic (IiA) have worked with Changing Latitudes in previous years to provide instruments to students in both Haiti and Guatemala. Changing Latitudes aims to support communities in developing countries, including supporting scholarships for students’ education and capital improvements at schools.

As part of this year’s trip, the organization’s fifth straight trip to Guatemala, they will be delivering instruments to students across six schools throughout Guatemala. Most of the instruments will be donated to Escuela Oficial Urbana Mixta de Educación Especial, located in Paztún, Guatemala. IiA provided Changing Latitudes with 73 instruments to deliver to these schools: 57 soprano recorders, seven flutes, and nine clarinets.

Written by Lucas Kremer
Edited by Regina Schneider

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Faculty News

Faculty Enrichment Fund Award: Youngbin Ko

George Mason string students and faculty at the asta conference

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The Academy values the importance of our teacher’s professional development. The Faculty Enrichment Fund annually provides partial and full reimbursement for teachers to attend conferences, workshops, and teacher training sessions. Academy Violin Jr. Instructor, Youngbin Ko, writes about her experience at the American String Teacher’s Association conference:

I am deeply grateful to Mason Community Arts Academy for supporting professional development opportunities for their teaching faculties. The Faculty Enrichment Fund Award allowed me to attend the American String Teachers Association and Suzuki Association of the Americas conference in San Francisco this February. As my first time attending the conference, it was a meaningful opportunity to connect with inspiring teachers and gain valuable insights from a variety of sessions. I also had the privilege of participating in a session titled “Getting to the Core of Bow Strokes,” presented by Professor June Huang and colleagues from George Mason University, which discussed effective ways to engage and develop the proper muscles for healthy practice.

Youngbin Ko (right)

Through this conference, I gained crucial perspectives on how I can build reliable relationships with both students and their parents as a teacher to support students’ musical and educational growth. I learned strategies for helping students approach practice as a form of deliberate play rather than a task, while fostering healthy musicianship through achievable goals, efficient learning activities, and celebrating their progress.

In technical sessions, I also learned more about the muscle movements involved in violin playing, particularly for holding the instrument and executing right-arm techniques such as string crossing. Participating in exercises during the sessions helped deepen my understanding of the instrument and the physical mechanism of my body while playing the violin.

Professor June Huang presenting at the conference.

Furthermore, through the concept of the one-point lesson, I gained ideas on how to focus on a single teaching objective within a lesson and structure teaching segments in a clear and accessible way to effectively deliver that point. This approach also helped me consider how to set specific goals that support students’ successful learning and understanding of that particular concept.

This experience allowed me to reflect on and refine my teaching philosophy and pedagogical strategies, helping me consider how to expand them moving forward. It reminded me that my role as a teacher goes beyond imparting musical knowledge and technique; it involves participating in a lifelong learning process where students learn within healthy, supportive connections and develop into well-rounded members of society.

I sincerely appreciate, once again, Mason Community Arts Academy for providing me with such invaluable experiences that allowed me to engage in meaningful learning and continue nurturing myself as a better educator.

Edited by Regina Schneider

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Instruments in the Attic

IiA Gifts 33 Instruments to Local Non-Profit

IiA staff and Culmore Center staff posing for photo

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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.