LOVELAND, Colo. — Teaching music is the norm for instructors like Valerie Vampola at Loveland Academy of Music.
She said that enjoying music is — the life.
"It's just such a great way to connect with other people [be]cause there's a lot of people that listen to music," Vampola said.
Loveland Academy of Music is a private after-school program started by Karen Suedmeier. Though her school and most likely her students do not directly benefit from Bringing Music to Life, Suedmeier said she supports it financially each month and has made her school a drop-off site for the music instrument drive.
"Probably many families, if not most families, are going to have some kind of band instruments or some instruments laying around," Suedmeier said.
The Colorado Nonprofit Development Center organizes the Bringing Music to Life drive, which asks people with used musical instruments to donate them to be refurbished and distributed to schools around Colorado. 9NEWS is an annual sponsor of the drive.
"We really feel like the whole community needs this," Suedmeier said. "This is part of benefiting and supporting and making a musical community as a whole."
Vampola said music is a way to build confidence with kids.
"The confidence is what really gets you to get out of bed in the morning and find your purpose," Vampola said. "That confidence, it helps them like realize that I can accomplish things and that's really important."
Suedmeier said she believes every child should have a chance to play music even though buying or renting instruments can be expensive.
"That's where Bringing Music to Life comes in, and they're putting these instruments in the hands of all of our students in the community," Suedmeier said.
To raise even more money for the instrument drive, Suedmeier and her instructors will be playing music for their students at a benefit concert in April.
"I don't know what my solo piece is yet," Suedmeier said. "My strong leaning is towards (Heavy-metal rock band) Metallica. I'm a classical pianist, but I really like playing something somebody does not expect."
Vampola is excited to show the kids that their teacher was just like them, too.
"I don't really get an opportunity to kind of show my students what happens when you apply yourself," Vampola said.
Learn more about how to donate musical instruments or money to support the program here: BringMusic.org.
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