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Mr. Sutherland's Classroom

  • Venice High School
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

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Past projects 3

  • Shaping Our Timpani Tone

    Funded Jul 12, 2024

    I'm just arriving back from a much-needed vacation, and much to my surprise have learned that this project has been funded in my absence! Thank you so much for setting us up for success for the school year to come. It means the world that there are people who believe in my students' potential.”

    With gratitude,

    Mr. Sutherland

  • Timpani Upgrade Time

    Funded Dec 13, 2023

    I wanted to take a few moments to update you on the outcomes of your generosity! Our new timpani arrived on a rare rainy day in LA. I got called out of a teacher meeting (thanks for that!) and bolted across campus to help unload and get it safely into the band room. Once it was unboxed, a few days of acclimating and tuning the head (similar to breaking in new guitar strings), and it was ready to go!

    Student enthusiasm toward playing timpani has skyrocketed, and it's RIGHTFULLY surpassed playing snare drum in popularity—even for me, as I have recently taken up the mantle as timpanist in a local community band! As timpani need to be tuned every day and for every piece, percussion students are developing their aural skills as well as improving their dexterity in playing these four huge, demanding instruments.

    The new instrument was used in concert performance for the first time on Thursday, March 21, 2024 by our advanced wind ensemble AND the largest concert band Venice has seen on stage in years—88 members strong! The musicians were incredibly successful, and audience feedback has been supremely enthusiastic.

    We can't wait until we can afford to replace our 26- and 29-inch drums to have a complete and matched set. Perhaps the DonorsChoose community will help us out once more!”

    With gratitude,

    Mr. Sutherland

    This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 24 other donors.

  • We Lack the Biggest Sax

    Funded Oct 14, 2021

    Holy cow, we made it A MONTH EARLY! What a huge day, with over three housses dollars in walk-off donations!

    Thank you so much to all the friends, family members, musicians, colleagues, and strangers who gave to my musicians. Even though this instrument can only be played by one individual at a time, it’s affect will be felt by all who are graced by its sound for years to come in student ensembles of all ability levels.”

    With gratitude,

    Mr. Sutherland

    This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 37 other donors.
The king of the middle school band woodwind section, the baritone saxophone ("Bari") is one of the most distinct and recognizable low voices in the entire band! How recognizable is it? It's the instrument that Lisa Simpson has played in every episode of "The Simpsons" since the show went mainstream in 1989! The Bari is a big, special instrument and takes an incredibly dedicated student to play it. The size of the case is bigger than many sixth-graders, and the instrument is HEAVY! Students who choose to play Bari need to be responsible for keeping both the instrument and themselves safe. Smaller saxophones are typically supported with a neck strap; I supply full torso harnesses for Bari players. With the number of band students we serve, our program should have at least four baritone saxophones. Unfortunately, we currently have none. This limits our ability to play much of the concert band repertoire and means we are lacking an important solo voice in big band jazz. Please consider helping us get our program's first Bari!

About my class

The king of the middle school band woodwind section, the baritone saxophone ("Bari") is one of the most distinct and recognizable low voices in the entire band! How recognizable is it? It's the instrument that Lisa Simpson has played in every episode of "The Simpsons" since the show went mainstream in 1989! The Bari is a big, special instrument and takes an incredibly dedicated student to play it. The size of the case is bigger than many sixth-graders, and the instrument is HEAVY! Students who choose to play Bari need to be responsible for keeping both the instrument and themselves safe. Smaller saxophones are typically supported with a neck strap; I supply full torso harnesses for Bari players. With the number of band students we serve, our program should have at least four baritone saxophones. Unfortunately, we currently have none. This limits our ability to play much of the concert band repertoire and means we are lacking an important solo voice in big band jazz. Please consider helping us get our program's first Bari!

About my class

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