Community Extra: Applause
Published 7:35 pm Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Nonprofit helps schools play happier tune
During the 2014-15 school year, the Edmonds Music4Life program delivered 20 ready-to-play musical instruments to Edmonds School District for use by students with financial need. The estimated total retail value of the instruments was $15,430.
Music4Life seeks musical instruments from adults who no longer need them. The nonprofit has them fully repaired and ready to play, then gives them to participating public school districts for use by children from low-income families. They also use donations to buy instruments to donate.
In just the first three months of the 2015-16 school year, the Edmonds branch of the Seattle-based nonprofit delivered another 17 musical instruments to Edmonds schools with a combined estimated value of $20,370.
One of those is a rare violin — a John Boder copy of an Italian-made 1908 Stephano Scarampella full-size violin — that was donated by a pilot, Bill Sleeper, of Bainbridge Island. The violin belonged to his mother, Norma Sleeper, who was first chair in the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and also played in other ensembles. She died in 2011 and the violin went to Sleeper.
“She just treasured that violin,” Sleeper said.
Sleeper said he is no instrumentalist, and that he soon felt the violin should be played. He took the instrument to internationally known Queen Anne luthier (string instrument restorer) Rafael Carrabba to get it fixed. He asked Carrabba who he could donate to, and Carrabba suggested Music4Life.
The violin is now being played by Edmonds-Woodway High School senior Dane Johnson.
There also is a Mukilteo branch of Music4Life.
For more information, go to www.music4life.org.
Concert brings in donations for program
A Nov. 30 Celtic Christmas concert at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Edmonds saw attendance of 175 and raised $1,947 for the Chase Lake Community School Safety Net Program. The Safety Net Program helps students and their families with basic needs, such as groceries, clothing, backpacks and school supplies.
To submit news for Applause, email newstips@heraldnet.com.
