Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 1, 1994 TAG: 9406010058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Some are more than 25 years old. They're no longer bright and shiny. Most still make music, but the quality and tone of the sounds are poor.
Ben Canada, a senior at Northside High School in Roanoke County and band member for six years, said the students make the best of the equipment. But it can be discouraging sometimes in band competitions, he said, when Northside loses points because the instruments are not bright and shiny.
"The judges probably think we don't take care of them," he said. "After so many years outside in the rain and the weather, they start looking old."
Having old instruments also makes it tougher to recruit new band members, Canada said. Kids are attracted to shiny instruments.
Northside High is not alone in having old instruments. All high schools and junior high schools in Roanoke County face similar problems.
Stephen King, supervisor of music and art, said 60 percent of the county's band instruments are more than 20 years old.
The county provides the larger and more expensive instruments such as drums and tubas. Band members provide their own smaller and less expensive instruments.
If an instrument costs more than $300, the county provides it, King said. Some instruments cost up to $4,000. The county has 537 instruments.
Replacing and overhauling the band instruments will cost between $455,000 and $520,000, depending on the number that are in suitable condition to be restored, King said.
King told the School Board recently that the county also will need more instruments as it switches to a middle school system.
King said the county has been able to keep most instruments in working condition because it has a $6,000 annual contract for maintenance and repairs.
"We have been fortunate with this contract. It has been well worth it," King said.
Frank Thomas, chairman of the School Board, said the county has never been able to provide the bands as much money as they've needed.
"I don't see we will have the money anytime soon to buy all of the instruments we need," Thomas said. He noted that the School Board asked for more funds for next year, but the Board of Supervisors granted half of the $1.6 million request.
"We must do a better job of selling our programs to the Board of Supervisors or look for other sources of revenues," said School Board member Charlsie Pafford.
"Maybe it is time for us to begin making some waves," said Barbara "Bootie" Chewning, a board member.
King said one option would be a lease-purchase contract so the county could pay for the instruments gradually and not have to provide all of the money up front.
Meanwhile, Band Director Greg Denton said band boosters at Northside have helped buy new instruments. "The boosters have helped us, but this is too much of a burden on them and the parents," said Denton, who also is band director at Northside Junior High School.
Michael Dowe, a junior at Northside High and a tuba player, said the brass on his instrument has turned gray because it is so old. He likes the band, but he longs for a new instrument.
Sarah Hart, a junior who has been in the band five years, said some instruments have started to corrode.
Denton said it's difficult to determine the age of some instruments because records go back only to 1969. He said some band members are using the same instruments that their parents used when they were Northside students.
Some instruments have come apart because of wear and tear. Band members use duct tape to patch some instrument cases.
Denton said the county schools cooperate to get the most mileage out of the equipment. If one school has a particular need for an instrument, he said, others try to help. "We share with each other whenever we can."
by CNB