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HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Diya Baldev has always loved music.
So when the fifth-grader had the opportunity to play a band or orchestra instrument as a student at Lincoln Elementary, she decided to play both.
Diya has learned how to put together her clarinet and play a note along with learning the proper way to hold her violin.
There are more than 100 fourth- and fifth-grade students at Hastings Public Schools already involved in the district's elementary band and orchestra programs.
Dozens more students would like to be part of the program.
The problem is the school has no more available instruments to rent and, for many families, renting or purchasing an instrument is out of the question due to cost.
"And we don't have any spare instruments for them to share or lend out," said elementary orchestra teacher Lacey Atkinson.
That's why Hastings Public Schools and the Hastings Public Schools Foundation are teaming up to collect instruments through Winds, Percussion and Strings for Kids program.
Community members can donate their own instruments, give money or sponsor a student by covering the cost of an instrument rental or purchase.
The program was started five or six years ago as the brainchild of former HPS music instructor Lynn Kaiser and Rick Matticks, the HPS music coordinator.
Matticks said the program has been successful, but this year the demand for instruments has increased.
He currently has about 90 elementary band students while Atkinson has 120 orchestra students and another 30 students waiting for instruments.
Having to tell students there aren't instruments available is difficult for Atkinson.
"I will say, 'Mr. Matticks and I are doing our hardest to do what we can to get an instrument in your hands,' " Atkinson said. "It's awesome that we have an elementary program in Hastings. But it's really tough to tell them they can't start now but they can in a bit."
She hopes within the next month to have an instrument for every student, even if it isn't their first choice of instrument.
Matticks said if he has a student who wants an instrument he doesn't have, he may encourage that student to try an instrument he does have available.
Just two days ago, he had a person come in hoping to sell a few instruments. After learning about the school's instrument donation program, the man agreed to donate his flute and clarinet to the school.
Within 24 hours, Matticks had tested and cleaned both instruments and gave the flute to a student to play.
Matticks said he knows there are instruments out there for people to donate and only asks that they are in good condition as he has a small repairs budget.
"I think there's folks in this community who probably have something sitting in the closet, it's something they know they're not going to play anymore," he said. "So why not donate to the school who can get it into the hands of a kid who can play it?"
The main need at this point is for the stringed instruments like violins, violas and cellos.
For those who don't have stringed instruments lying around, Matticks said, making a financial donation to the HPS Foundation or even sponsoring an individual student are other possibilities.
With a sponsorship, the donor would cover the costs to either rent or purchase an instrument for an individual student.
Atkinson said there is need for stringed instruments in all sizes. Unlike with band instruments, which are one size fits all, violins come in different sizes based on the arm length of the player.
"It depends on the length of their arm," Atkinson said. "If they're a smaller fourth-grader, they can't have a full-size instrument."
While this program will focus mostly on getting instruments into the hands of elementary students, Matticks said, there are still students in the middle and high school who are renting instruments from the district. In most cases, it's because those students don't have the money to cover the cost of an instrument rental or purchase.
Quality brand instruments for band and orchestra — including violins, violas, cellos, trumpets, trombones, flutes and saxophones, among others — range in price from about $250 to more than $2,000.
Matticks said it's important to purchase quality instruments. If the price for a new instrument looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Matticks said his goal is to get an instrument into the hands of every student who wants one.
He said it goes back to the district's motto, "Assuring the essential, expanding the possible."
"I look at us as that 'expanding the possible' of that kid's education," he said of music. "We can give these kids such wonderful opportunities that can carry them through life."
Matticks mentioned opportunities like the Hastings Symphony Orchestra or the pit orchestra for the Hastings Community Theatre musicals.
"There's plenty of opportunities for adults to participate in music in the community," he said. "So they can get their start here."
For more information, visit hastingspublicschools.org and click on Instrument Donation on the left side or call 402-461-7500.
Donations made by mailed to the HPS Foundation, 1924 W. A St., Hastings, NE 68901.
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Information from: Hastings Tribune, http://www.hastingstribune.com
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