Donated instruments, like cars, need tune-ups

BY KAREN HERZOG
JULY 11, 2019

MILWAUKEE – Nick Miller plucks a donated, vintage saxophone from its musty case, and gets excited when he spots the fancy engraving on the instrument’s bell.

“That’s cool man,” says the instrument repair technician from Brass Bell Music in Glendale, who is methodically assessing the condition of donated instruments in a Wisconsin Conservatory of Music storage room.

“When these came out, they were the bee’s knees. This one’s old, but it’s been well oiled and loved. The keys move pretty well.”

The sax, made in France, will soon have an enthusiastic new player coaxing music through its bell. But first, the old sax needs new pads to completely seal the tone holes beneath its two dozen keys when they are pressed to create musical notes.

Other no-longer-played instruments donated to WCM by generous community members over the past two years have similar repair needs, costing an average $150 per instrument.

With the help of music lovers like you, we can fix them all. Then we can put them in the hands of kids from economically challenged families who want what other kids take for granted – the chance to succeed through studying music.

Like cars with pistons, valves and belts, musical instruments with keys, corks, pads or strings require maintenance for all of their parts to work smoothly.

The Conservatory has spent about $36,000 from its own operating budget to cover repairs to saxophones, clarinets, flutes, tubas, trumpets, violins, and other donated instruments.

Many were well-loved, and the children who played them spent many hours practicing music with them. When the children grew up and moved away, they left their instruments behind in an attic or closet. Other kids outgrew instruments in high school, when their interest switched from creating music to playing sports.

Sitting untouched, the instrument did not get the care and maintenance needed. But another child wants it now.

“Ideally, we want to do enough maintenance so the next child who gets the instrument has a solid year,” says Nick, the Brass Bell repair technician.

We need your help to make that happen.