National grant awarded to Crane school from Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation

Crane Middle School's wishes were recently granted after it received a national grant for $10,000 for new and refurbished musical instruments for its music program.

Due to funding loss in music programs nationwide, the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation seeks to help underserved schools, community music programs, after-school programs and individual students nationwide who may not have the money to purchase or repair instruments.

Instruments to be received at Crane include alto saxophones, trumpets, clarinets and flutes.

“We have so many students every year that sign up to take band but cannot afford to rent or purchase an instrument. The school simply did not have enough instruments to go around,” said Patricia Moore, band director at Crane Middle School.

“Now that the school has received this grant, we will no longer have to turn students away from the band program, which might just be the place where they belong.”

Moore said students in the elementary and junior high level are just beginning to discover themselves and are at a point of transition in their lives — to take music away would be detrimental.

“Music gives these students not only a place to express themselves emotionally but to discover how much they can truly accomplish. That attitude carries over into other subjects in school and aspects of their life. Eventually the success is addicting and these students strive for it in everything.”

Inspired by the 1995 motion picture “Mr. Holland's Opus,” the organization believes in the benefits of music education and how it not only helps students to perform better in the classroom but that it inspires creativity and expression.

In the past 15 years, over 13,000 new and refurbished instruments have been donated to 1,058 school and community music programs across the country, according to the foundation.

“Learning music in school is a way to engage kids and give them something that makes them better students and better people,” said Felice Mancini, executive director of Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. “They deserve every tool available to help them receive a quality education, and we want to ensure that music is in that toolbox.”

Visit www.mhopus.org for more information about the organization.

Sarah Womer can be reached at swomer@yumasun.com or 539-6858.