Galveston Music vs. The Hurricane

No, I’m not talking about a Denzel Washington movie, The Scorpions, or any attempt at a lame-ass, after-the-fact “list of songs to listen to while a hurricane pummels your city” playlist (hell, in our ‘hood we barely listened to music, period, with the lights out & all). I’m actually talking about trying to help out budding musicians who attend Galveston-area schools, which I happen to think is a really worthy cause.

I got a somewhat-cryptic email forwarded to me a few weeks back that talks about a series of drives to replace school band/orchestra-type instruments that were destroyed or damaged due to Hurricane Ike. I’m including the info from the email below; it looks like the list is only for Central Middle School down in G-town, but I’m sure it’d be way, way longer if it included specific needs for every school on the island.

At any rate, here’s the info I’ve got:

We are very excited about this initiative to replace musical instruments for Galveston area schools due to loss from Hurricane Ike.
As discussed, we are sharing the initial details with you regarding dates and the instruments needed by Central Middle School.

The dates for the drives in the different cities are as follow:

Nov 11- Houston – Texas Latin GRAMMY Celebration monetary donations
Nov 20- San Antonio- location TBD, drop off from 12p-6p
Nov 24- Dallas- location TBD, drop off from 12p-6p
Dec 10- Austin- Open House, drop off from 9a-6p and during Open House

As promised, here is the list of what is needed:

8 Flutes
1 full conservatory system wooden oboe
2 long bore short reach Fox Bassoons (that I had just refurbished)
19 Bb clarinets
7 Eb Alto saxophones
3 Bb Tenor saxophones
1 Eb Alto Clarinet
1 Bb Bass Clarinet
35 Bb trumpets and cornets
17 Tenor trombones
4 Euphoniums
3 BBb Tubas
1 four valve (rotary) BBb Tuba
Mobile Percussion cabinet
1 Peterson 12 window strobe tuner Peterson 505000
I Roland PF4 digital piano
1 Baby Grand piano (white)
1 Baby Grand piano (mahogany)
2 Upright pianos
1 Model 10-A metronome
1 Set of HANDBELLS 5 octave set with tables and cushions
Several string instruments were also lost:
1 viola
2 3/4 size cellos
9 violins ranging from full size to 1/2 size
Sound equipment for the Band Hall and the Choir Hall

More details regarding this campaign to come soon. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks!

Karla Martinez
Project Manager
Recording Academy
Phone: 512.328.7997
“karla dot martinez” at “grammy dot com”

So, there you go — if/when I hear more, I’ll definitely post it here, but keep your own eyes peeled for more on the drive, too, eh? Like I said, definitely a worthy cause…