“The thing I love about my beginners is they are so passionate.”
With 45 beginning players in a period, band Director Andrew Campo sees a lot of passion and energy!
Campo’s middle school band room in Cortez is overflowing with students learning music, thanks in large part to the Bringing Music to Life Instrument Drive.
In fact, Campo’s music program is a beacon for BMTL’s program to positively impact youth over the past dozen years. Campo has seen participation in band grow to nearly 50 percent of the school’s population. This last year alone saw 20 percent growth and he’s expecting even more next year.
Montezuma-Cortez Middle School sees about 240 students participate in the band out of its population of about 500. Campo says the band recently went to the town’s Veteran’s parade and practically shut the school down.
“Every other kid in school is in band. It’s crazy!”
Campo attributes that passion to the band room’s welcoming atmosphere and to the fact that the kids don’t have to purchase an instrument in order to participate. It’s an expense many in the school could not afford.
In fact, only about 10 of his 240 students own their instruments. The rest play instruments that have been donated, mostly through the Bringing Music to Life Instrument Drive.
“You just have to have the instruments,” says Campo.
“If you are interested in changing the trajectory of a youngster, there’s very little you could do that’s more impactful than giving an instrument away.”
Andrew Campo
Last year the drive collected nearly 1,000 instruments. Of those, about 700 were repaired and awarded to 57 elementary, middle and high schools.
That brings the total number of instruments donated to over 8,000 since the inception of the drive more than a dozen years ago.
This year’s instrument drive is March 17-29. If you have a gently used band or orchestra instrument you’re not playing anymore, consider donating it so a child somewhere in Colorado can fall in love with music. That instrument could be used for many years, even decades, in a school music program.
“You see kids going down the wrong path. Then they get into band around kids who are like-minded and have a focus to learn skills, and you can see them change.”
Music can change lives, and you can change the life of a kid by donating your gently used band or orchestra instrument March 17-29.
Don’t have an instrument lying around but want to help? Donate to the BMTL Repair Fund. The average cost to fully restore an instrument is about $165.
Ways to Donate:
Are you a school interested in acquiring instruments?
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