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OREM — New instruments that look as good as they sound were a welcome surprise for the orchestra at Lakeridge Junior High on Wednesday.
Making beautiful music will be easier for the 60 students thanks to a generous donation from Fidelity Investments, which recently opened an office in Utah County.
"Just to see the kids' eyes light up as those instruments came in today tells you what it means for our orchestra kids," said Principal Garrick Peterson.
Fidelity representatives bestowed the gifts after an informal concert held in the orchestra room. Students thought they were thanking the investment firm for repainting and cleaning the room, which employees did over the weekend. But after playing a children's song about a baby bumblebee, deep brown stringed instruments with green and white bows were carried in and given to their new owners.
Megan Graves, the school's orchestra teacher, said she was blown away by the caliber of instruments the organization purchased. The string instruments were provided in conjunction with the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, and included shoulder rests and bows.
"The quality of instruments — that's what surprises me the most," Graves said.
With budgets sure to be tight this year for schools and families in the community, Graves said the donation, valued at $20,000, will make a big difference for the program. Included in the gift were two violins, 10 violas, five cellos and two string basses.
"I think it will help the music program grow and will give a big incentive to the community to keep the music programs in the schools," she said.
Educators at the school said it's been proven music helps kids in their academic studies.
Rob Witt, a branch manager with Fidelity, said the company was looking for a way to contribute to the families in the area.
"We wanted to do something special and involve ourselves in the community," Witt said.
"I love my music," said 14-year-old Amy Gernado, who plays the viola. "That's very nice for our school because we didn't have amazing instruments before."
Some students at the school rent school-owned instruments for a small fee, while the fee is waived for students whose families can't afford it.
Peterson said the young students certainly deserve it.
"There's always two parts of a school. There's the brains of the school, and that's the academic side, but then there's the heart. And this is the heart of our school," he said. "For a lot of kids, this is why they come to school."
E-mail:mfarmer@ksl.com
