the Crowden Letter
Storied Instruments Have you ever wondered how Crowden acquires our instrument collection?
programs, are loaned to students preparing for
instrument has a special emotional attachment
conservatory auditions, or loaned on a longer
to them, and Crowden is the last place where
term basis to adult students. Other gifts have
musical instruments are seen as only objects.
helped us modernize our piano collection and
That being said, we need to be clear-eyed,
enlarge our collection of fractional-sized string
and sensitively dispassionate when making
instruments, which are so important for our
decisions about which instruments to accept,
summer camps. Instrument donations support
as not all of them will fit our specific needs at
Crowden’s outreach programs, and have even
Crowden.
There are many ways to support Crowden,
provided replacements for music students who
All of the instruments we accept have a
and a popular choice for a number of donors is
lost their instruments in the recent North Bay
meaningful tale behind them; in this issue of
to make in-kind donations of musical instru-
fires. Pianos and stringed instruments are not
the Crowden Letter, we explore a few stories we
ments and sheet music.
the only gifts that have helped our programs:
found particularly worthy of sharing.
These gifts have included very valuable
we use donated recorders, flutes and clarinets,
older instruments, which we either resell
children’s percussion, and a full drum set for
to benefit our programs or keep as loaner
uses as varied as our annual Community Music
instruments for professional players visiting
Day, Crowden School theatrical productions,
Crowden. Some instruments, while too high-
and early childhood music classes.
quality to be in general everyday use in our
Go behind the scenes of our instrument collection on pages 4–5!
Nearly everyone preparing to donate an
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