Nobody was singing the blues when several boxes of donated musical accessories were delivered on Tuesday, Oct. 20, to the band hall at W.H. Adamson High School.
The gifts, made possible through donations to the House of Blues Music Forward Foundation, specifically benefit the Adamson percussionists – the “Blue Fire.” The donation includes mallets, mounting brackets, cymbals and drum stands.
“This donation will allow you to take your music program to the next level,” said Nazanin Fatemian of the Music Forward Foundation. “We believe all young people deserve the opportunity to learn music, to play music, and to play it well.”
Director of Bands Chris Green has seen the Adamson band program grow from 12 students to more than 200. The band equipment, however, has been unable to keep up with the growth.
“The equipment here is slowly improving,” Green said, noting that the band has received several grants, but Tuesday’s delivery marked the first one that arrived. The drum stands in particular will help drummers beat fatigue by allowing them to put their instruments down between breaks at football games.
Unique to Adamson’s program is the indoor percussion component – performances intended to be indoors using solely percussion instruments. Band members played their versions of “Mars, the Bringer of War” from Gustav Holst’s The Planets, and “Silent Night.”
Music Forward’s 2015-2016 Action for the Arts Grant Program has awarded $225,000 to 62 schools and organizations to help reach underserved youth across the country. In the Dallas area, other recipients have been O.W. Holmes Middle School, Big Thought and Fine Arts Chamber Players.
“Giving the gift of music to inspire creativity and shape the next generation of local musicians through the Action for the Arts grants program helps build the Dallas music scene of tomorrow,” said Marc Mann, general manager of House of Blues Dallas. “It’s great to see the young talent of the community develop through their schools’ music programs and eventually play on the House of Blues stage.”
Green is going for another grant to benefit the Adamson band program, one from Farmers Insurance that could award $100,000 to the program. Find information here and vote for his proposal to help him win.
