Past projects 55
Help! My Instrument Has No Case!
Funded Nov 4, 2017It has been several weeks since the new instrument cases have arrived and the students could not be happier. When February break began last week, the instrument closet shelves were nearly bare because with the new cases, more students were able to take their instruments home to practice. The new cases also helped our students transport their instruments to the All County Music Festival last month, during which the children had the opportunity to play with excellent young musicians from all over our city! As we enter Spring Concert and Festival season the new cases will help our students practice regularly at home so that they can reach their true potential!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
Rhythms of the World Resounding
Funded Aug 11, 2017Thank you all so much for your generous support! Our students are already hard at work using their new instruments and equipment. With the shakers, cowbell and tubano, the students have been learning new rhythms while exploring West African culture. The tuners are helping us keep our guitars and bases in tune and the new trumpet case is being used to replace one that had fallen apart.
Over the coming year, our instrumental music program will service nearly 500 students, many of whom had never picked up an instrument before. Donors like you have made it possible to expand our program so that we will never have to turn a student away due to insufficient funds. My students are using their new equipment as they prepare for upcoming performances and festivals. Thank you for helping our band program flourish!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
Drumming Across the World!
Funded Jul 7, 2017Three months into the school year, the sounds of drums thunder throughout the building. Our band students are hard at work preparing for the upcoming Winter Arts Festival and our general music classes are studying world music and drumming vigorously. The drums, drumsticks and drum pads have been a wonderful way to engage our general music in fun and authentic music-making activities. Our concert band percussionists sound great using their new timpani mallets.
The equipment from this project has allowed us to expand music class offerings. Due to the popularity of the drumming classes, we have begun an after school drumming club, which has nearly 30 students! As you can imagine, the drum pads from this project help keep the noise level more tolerable.
Thank you for supporting our music program. Donors like you have helped our program to flourish during times in which so many arts programs are vanishing. We promise to take excellent care of our new equipment. Thank you once again for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 5 other donors.Cultural Explorations Through Drumming
Funded May 15, 2017Less than two full months into the school year, the band room is alive with sound! The concert and jazz bands are preparing for the upcoming Winter Arts Festival and the beginners could not be more excited to have successfully learned their first few notes! Upstairs the choral classes are singing in beautiful harmony. In addition our world music/bucket drumming courses are being offered both during the school day as well as after school clubs. Indeed music permeates the air in our school. The resources we received from this (and so many other Donors Choose projects) allow an increasing number of students to participate in a wide range of music making activities. Thank you for your incredibly kind support and for helping the arts flourish in our school!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
Cultural Explorations Through Music, Part 2
Funded Jun 5, 2017Our world music/bucket drumming program has already had a marvelous impact on the students. Last week several teachers came running into the auditorium to see what all of the loud noise and excitement was about. What they discovered was a class of 12 students, each of whom struggle with learning disabilities, drumming together. They were intently focused on the task, working together and most importantly having fun! As we continue the implementation of this project, we plan to expand drumming courses to more students. Next week we will also begin two after school drumming clubs. Thank you so much for these amazing new resources!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by H&M and one other donor.Percussion is More Than Crash and Boom!
Funded Mar 30, 2017As the new year begins, our band students prepare music together to share with the community. Preparations for the Winter concert are well underway for our Winter Arts Festival in December and the new beginners have successfully put their instruments together and played a note for the first time. Indeed each new year brings with it anticipation and excitement for the journey that lies ahead.
Our students feel incredibly fortunate to have new some brand new percussion equipment. All of our percussionists have fresh new drum sticks and they love taking the small bell kits home to practice their xylophone and glockenspiel parts. The new hard xylophone mallets sound wonderful! Thank you so much for supporting our community!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and 9 other donors.POP: Protect Our Percussion!
Funded Sep 24, 2016Thank you so much for contributing to our project! The materials arrived in time for our Winter Arts Festival. Our percussionists sounded better than ever with their new tambourine and we used the timpani key to fix up two old drums that were recently donated. This concert marked the first time we have ever used timpani! We cannot wait to use them more often!
The new drum cases will be a great help when we participate in our state adjudication festival in May. In the past, our drums often incurred damage from the long bus ride, but with the protective cases from this project, we know our drums will stand up the abuse of a yellow bus ride.
Our band program continues to grow thanks to donors like you. With all of the funding we receive, we are able to enroll more students in instrumental music classes. There are 100 students in the 7th grade band this year. A few years ago this would have not been possible due to our inventory. With the support of our donors/guardian angels, no child who desires to learn an instrument will be turned away.
Thank you for your incredible kindness and generosity. Wishing you much health, happiness, laughter and love in the New Year!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by Yamaha Corporation of America – Band & Orchestral and 5 other donors.Tinkerbell is Dying (New Orchestra Bells Needed!)
Funded Jun 15, 2016It is amazing to hear how much better our percussion section sounds with the brand new orchestra bells. The mallet part cuts through the band and we no longer have to listen to the dead notes from our old, now retired bell set. At the present time, we are preparing for our winter arts festival. The orchestra bells play an important role in every piece we will perform. In addition, the orchestra bells are being used by all of the beginner band classes. The new percussionists in the band program are incredibly fortunate to be learning on a fully-functioning set of bells. Through this project we have learned that collaboration goes a long way. We worked together with Ms. Schecter to write the proposal, and it is so cool to see the results of our efforts. Thank you all so much for donating to our band! We promise to take the very best care of our new bells and mallets!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation & Think It Up Supporters and 28 other donors.Our 1972 Euphoniums are EW-phoniums
Funded Mar 9, 2016In less than two weeks, the 2016 Symphonic Band will no longer exist. We will walk across the stage, accept our diplomas and prepare to make the transition to high school. We will leave MS 158 knowing that we made things better for future band students. Not only did our class receive a euphonium from this grant, we were also granted another euphonium and four brand new flutes from other student-led projects.
We have immensely enjoyed using our new instruments. The new euphonium from this project arrived just in time for our concert season! We played on our new instruments in the Spring Concert, State Adjudication as well as other performances within the local community. It is much easier to play on new, fully-functioning instruments, and we are glad that when we graduate, these instruments will be left for the new generation of students that will soon take our place.
Thank you for your generous support of our band! It is the kindness of donors like you that has allowed our program to flourish. With your help, the MS 158 Band will continue to thrive long after we graduate!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by Ashoka & Think It Up Supporters and 4 other donors.Project: EW (Euphoniums Wanted)!
Funded Mar 9, 2016With another hugely successful concert season behind us, we are now taking the time to reflect on our year. Armed with several new instruments from donorschoose.org, including our shiny new euphonium, we made music that left a lasting impression on our community. We received a gold rating at NYSSMA Level III, performed a concert as well as at several school events and are now preparing for our final performance together...graduation!
Our new euphonium has a beautiful tone. The student who plays it will soon be using it for her All City High School Band audition. She has already played it at the Queens College Honor Band Festival, our Spring Concert, Senior Awards Night and Honor Society induction. These performances are only the beginning of our new euphonium's life here at MS 158. We promise to take the very best care of our amazing new instrument, so many future generations of students will have the opportunity to learn and love the euphonium.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by Ashoka & Think It Up Supporters and 7 other donors.