Information about The Gift of Music, including how to donate band instruments, is online at giftofmusic.org;
678-805-2050.
An idea to fill the gap left by tightening school budgets hit Chris Monroe last year when a band director asked him if he had any spare instruments. “It got me thinking - what if I started a little nonprofit to find orphan instruments that are lying around in closets, basements and attics?” he said.
But soon Monroe was thinking beyond merely donating instruments. A lifelong music lover, he went to college with dreams of being a band director, and though he’s been covering traffic and news on radio stations around town for 20 years, he’s still passionate about playing and giving kids a chance to play, too.
“I had a long-term vision to become a support for music education programs in Atlanta, especially in the schools that are hurting and get little help or attention,” he said. “We want to be a resource to provide instruments, education and grants for music programs of all types.”
The idea became The Gift of Music, a nonprofit launched last May to establish band programs in Atlanta schools where that class has been cut from the budget.
“We were getting this off the ground last spring when we got word that the Atlanta school system’s music program was going to get cut, mostly in 18 elementary schools,” said Monroe. “So it was natural that our first programs started there.”
One of the teachers whose job was eliminated, Arthur McClenton, joined Monroe’s team and got in touch with principals at schools where he used to teach. Two elementary schools, West Manor and Bethune, embraced the idea of having teachers come in after hours to lead a band class twice a week. Both programs now have close to 20 participants from third, fourth and fifth grades who are introduced to instruments provided by the foundation. Both the instruments and the lessons are free.
“That’s a good start for a foundation that kicked off with a few dollars from my pocket,” said Monroe with a laugh. “We got these programs started between May and September, and now we have kids champing at the bit to get to music class.”
Stacy Barrett, a member of the music faculty at Morris Brown, is one of the foundation’s co-instructors who works with students on reading music, learning their instruments and exploring music theory.
“This is a great outlet for the kids; they’re always excited to come to band practice,” said Barrett. “Our hope is they will go into middle and high school band, and maybe even major in music. That’s my motivation; I want to get more students interested in music, and this band gives them a little push.”
Mahagony Johnson, the parent liaison at West Manor, helps out with the program at the southwest Atlanta school and has seen first-hand how enthused the students are, even though being in the band requires staying after school and practicing on their own.
“We lost our band program last year, but the Gift of Music has stepped in and helped us bring some of that back,” she said. “It’s really opened a window of opportunity for students to explore music. And they’re so excited to be part of it. They tell me, ‘Ms. Johnson, I can’t wait for Tuesday to go to band.’ “
Monroe said the positive results have inspired him to expand the program, and he’s now looking to add a band program to at least five more schools before the end of 2016.
“In six months, we’ve already been able to make an impact, and now we’ve set a target that’s 10 times higher than what we started with,” he said. “We believe this program can be a game-changer for music education not just in Atlanta, but across the nation.”
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