In Cortez, Colorado, near The Four Corners, the award-winning Montezuma-Cortez Middle School Band is famous. At this school, the band kids are the cool kids.
“I guess success breeds success,” said longtime director, Andrew Campo. “When I started here, we had about 130 kids or so in the program, and then with COVID, it dipped to about 70. And this year we're almost 240, and our school has about 550 kids in it. So, almost every other kid in the school is in the band, which is great. Our band looks like our school, which is the way I want it to be.”
Campo is quick to credit the community for the band's success. He's also grateful to a Denver nonprofit. Bringing Music to Life holds an annual instrument drive for schools across Colorado. Montezuma-Cortez Middle has benefited for more than a decade.
“We've received a grand total of 52 instruments. We literally could not have grown the way we have without their help,” Campo said. “The community's been great, but we live in a pretty small community, and to get these instruments from Bringing Music to Life has been a game-changer for us.”
Bringing Music to Life started under the auspices of Colorado Public Radio when founder Steve Blatt was hosting a classical music program on the radio. Soon, Blatt began soliciting donations of instruments to give them to school children and Bringing Music to Life was born. Campo learned about the program while listening to CPR Classical. The nonprofit estimates about 20,000 children in some 300 music programs have benefited from more than 8,000 donated instruments. This year, Campo’s program received two flutes, two clarinets, two alto saxophones, two trumpets, a trombone, and a baritone.
“I just really like music, and I feel like I connect to it,” says 7th grader Anastasia, who received one of the donated trumpets, which was almost brand new. “It's more opportunities for me. And I just really like the trumpet because I can express my feelings and emotions with it.”
Bringing Music to Life served a record number of schools this year, but securing donations is getting tougher and tougher as donors clear out their closets and crawl spaces. Andrew Campo says without the instrument drive, the Montezuma-Cortez Middle School Band would look a lot different.
“It would be smaller. If it weren't for Bringing Music to Life, I would have to turn students away, and that's never something I want to do. We don't have the money to just go out and buy 25 instruments,” Campo said. “And if it weren't for the very kind donations of the people that give to Bringing Music to Life and the members, the volunteers, the vendors who give up their time and their expertise, we couldn't do it. My program would be at least 50 people smaller because we got 52 instruments from them over the years. That's a game-changer. It is impacting kids' lives.”
Montezuma-Cortez Middle School will play with the high school's Marching Panthers at their home football game on Sept. 27. They'll also be in the Homecoming Parade down Cortez's Main Street on Oct. 9.
