BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Rocky Mountain Music Repair is busy this time of year collecting instruments for their annual School Secret Santa Instrument Drive. The group is collecting and repairing instruments and music supplies to help make a difference in struggling music programs around the state. Brian Stevenson is the owner of the repair shop that’s been cleaning up valves and fixing dents to make sure all students across the state have a chance to make music.
“There isn’t enough budget to take care of all the needs of band directors now no matter how the school districts are doing it,” Stevenson said. “So, people like us in the community and customers have to kind of help fill in the gaps on certain things that we can help the bands with.”
The shop has been sponsoring the instrument drive for the past four years and has given away $220,000 worth of instruments to over 15 music programs in 10 school districts in Colorado. This year, Stevenson said they have already received 34 instruments that will be repaired and handed out to band directors in a couple of weeks.
“We get a lot of instruments donated during the drive but also need a lot of work,” Stevenson said. “We refuse to give out any instrument to a school that isn’t 100% workable and be able to give it to the kids the day they get it, and they can play it immediately.”
So far, they have had 26 band directors sign up to receive the donated instruments, but the repairs come with a cost. Stevenson said the average cost of an instrument repair can be around $300 so donors can also sign up to be a sponsor of an instrument that will help offset the cost.
“We get instruments in all different states of condition; some are playable, some have been sitting in a closet for many years,” Stevenson said. “We ask people to help us out with the cost of repairs in order to get it back to where it needs to be.”
The drive also accepts music supplies like reeds, mouthpieces and percussion mallets that donors can purchase for the schools.
“We sometimes think about all the accessories like reeds and valve oils that maybe it’s easy for us to come out and buy for our family but there are other families who might not have access to even get to a music store and be able to buy those smaller things,” Stevenson said. “We never want a kid to be saddled with the burden of a non-playable instrument.”
The School Secret Santa Drive goes on until Dec. 19 when the band directors receive the donations. It is a busy few weeks for Stevenson and his staff, but he said it is one of his favorite times of the year, and he hopes it catches on nationwide.
“If I don’t do anything good in this community my entire life, I do this and it’s my favorite thing every year and it keeps getting bigger and bigger,” Stevenson said. “There’s only so much one place can do but a little bit from a lot of people makes a big difference.”
For more information about the School Secret Santa Drive, click here.