Donations are music to ears of students

Rebecca Malone

Friday, Jan. 18, 2002 | 4:42 a.m.

Send a request to the International House of Blues Foundation, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, NV 89119. Fax requests to 632-7681. Requests must include student profile and explanation of how instruction will be delivered.

Anyone wishing to donate an instrument can call 632-7682.

Sheri Manning's band class has no empty seats and not a single unused instrument. In fact, they could use a few more.

Manning teaches at Robison Middle School and, like many other teachers in Las Vegas Valley schools where families have a low incomes, she is barely making do with the number of instruments she has.

"We had to turn away a lot of students this year because we ran out of instruments," Manning said. "We have close to 500 kids in band this year and probably would have 100 more if we had the instruments."

Now, this school and others may be receiving help from local donations.

The International House of Blues Foundation is working with the Clark County School District to collect and distribute instruments to schools that need them. This is the first year Las Vegas has participated in the Pass it Down music instrument exchange program and, while the number of donated instruments was low, donations are still coming in.

"The initial response has been very good," Russell Jones of the House of Blues said. "We reached out to the people in town that we already knew, but there needs to be more done on our part. We were testing the water to see if there was a need, and I think that there definitely is."

The foundation was able to collect 29 instruments during a donation drive Dec. 1-14. The largest donor was Cowtown Guitars owner Mark Chatfield, with 12 guitars. He has pledged to match that donation each year during the drive.

"Any instrument that is given goes into the hands of a child who otherwise might not experience the opportunity to have an instrument," Marcia Neel, coordinator of secondary music programs for the School District, said. "By getting them to study music, we engage them in the learning process, which makes a big difference in their performance levels. They stay in school and they do better on tests because learning music develops discipline."

More than 35,000 students take music classes out of 120,599 students in grades six through 12, according to the School District.

The desire to take band and play music is there, but the needed supplies are not, Manning said.

The ability develops. Her band has received superior ratings the past eight years in the School District's music festival.

"We had a couple thousand people in our gym for this last winter concert, and many people had to stand because there wasn't enough room," Manning said. "Parents are excited that their kids are doing something, but they can't afford to help them."

She said many students take band in middle school but then have to drop it in high school because they don't have the money to buy their own instruments.

"Ours is an at-risk school with a lot of low-income families that don't have the financial means to buy their own instruments," Manning said. "Our school district does a lot to support our music department, but they can only do so much."

Manning said that her eight years of experience with students at Robison supports Neel's statement that studying music in school helps them do better in their other classes.

The reason is simple, Chatfield said.

"You have to work your mind to play an instrument," said Chatfield, who has worked with local musicians in town for years and has played with Michael Bolton and Bob Seger. "You have to think and be creative, and I think it's great for kids' self-esteem."

Not having any kids of his own, Chatfield said it's nice to be able to give back to children in the community who need their own instruments.

"Music always starts with the kids," Jones said. "It gives you exposure to things and gives you a gift you can carry throughout your life."