From closet to class: band instruments get new life

TICONDEROGA | When Gabe Vigliotti signed up for the music program at Ticonderoga Central, it was to play the sax, not repair trumpets. Yet on Friday, the Sentinel junior was orchestrating a little tough love on an instrument that had seen better days. "This one was pretty nasty, it looks like it's been sitting around for a while," he said. "But I'll try my best." Music teacher Mike Iturrino's class was part of an ongoing process that has collected forgotten instruments that were wasting away in closets and attics far and wide. The trumpets reconditioned by students last week will be used and loved by kids whose families might otherwise not have been able to afford one. The program, called We Are Instrumental, is the brainchild of Skidmore music professor Evan Mack, whose son reported on the poor condition of instruments that many of his classmates were relying on. Mack said he knew that, like an old piece of sporting equipment, school musicians often packed their instruments away on graduation, perhaps intending to use them again at some later date, perhaps not. "Most of these were collecting dust, but now we're bringing them back to life. The program was enthusiastically supported by Iturrino and by the Ticonderoga Festival Guild, which is sponsoring a summer-long instrument drive. Already, the program has resurrected 70 instruments that will go to students not just in Ti, but from north Warren County to northern Essex. Most of the instruments just need to be cleaned or provided with quick repairs, but some need a full overhaul. The age of the instrument is generally not a factor. "There's something to the phrase, they don't build them like they used to," said Mack, who said donations have included some finely crafted Conn-Selmer instruments worth thousands of dollars. As word of the program has spread through social media, donations are coming from further afield, including a delivery of 11 instruments that are coming from New Jersey. We Are Instrumental, as it's turned out, has done more than just give band and string instruments a tune-up. Friday's trumpet repair was under the videoconference tutelage of Cole's Windwood Shop owner Bill Cole, who was simultaneously broadcasting to a class in Haiti, where he has helped provide instruments for students. That's provided a multicultural flair for students who get a taste of school life in another nation, and learn that, for example, a saxophone in Haiti works the same way as a saxophone in the States. Students are obviously getting lessons in instrument repair, but that also helps them gain a broader understanding of their own instruments, which in turn can make them better musicians. "It's definitely been a fun experience," said Lorelei Leerkes, who plays saxophone in the band. "It's really cool to see how the instrument works." Those wishing to contribute instruments this summer may drop them off at Instruments may be left at the Silver Bay YMCA, at Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System branches in Rouses Point, Mooers, Malone, Dannemora, St. Regis Falls, Keeseville, Willsboro, Upper Jay, Essex and Ticonderoga, and the First United Methodist Church in Ticonderoga.

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From closet to class: band instruments get new life

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