Making Music Again

A project to repair damaged instruments is bringing music back to public schools.

In December, 400 musicians, young and old, marched onto the stage of the 23rd Street Armory, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One hauled out a cello × cello IMGORTHAND/GETTY IMAGES a large stringed instrument in the violin family that is played with a bow (noun) I practice the cello every day. with dangling strings. Another cradled a trumpet wrapped in duct tape. Others carried broken violins, flutes, and drums. They took their seats. Then they played music written specifically for broken instruments owned by the School District of Philadelphia.

The concert was part of a project called Symphony for a Broken Orchestra. The damaged instruments had been sitting unused in the city’s schools. “There was no money to fix them,” Robert Blackson told TFK. He is the director of exhibitions × exhibition KIDSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES an event at which works of art or other objects are put out for people to look at (noun) The exhibitions included many famous paintings. at Temple Contemporary. It’s an art gallery at Philadelphia’s Temple University. In March 2015, Blackson created Symphony for a Broken Orchestra to give the instruments a second chance at life.

“The goal is to get the entire city of Philadelphia to care about these broken instruments,” Blackson says. “With the money raised, we can repair [them all] and get them back into the schools, where they belong.”

Raising the Bar

Since Blackson began the project, his team at Temple Contemporary has collected more than 1,000 broken school instruments. Blackson worked with musicians and recording engineers to record people playing them. Instrument photos and audio clips are posted on the project’s website. Music lovers can look online to pick an instrument to sponsor.

So far, these efforts have raised more than $250,000. That’s enough to cover the cost of 800 repairs. “At this rate, we will have all of the instruments fixed up [for] the start of the school year in the fall,” Blackson says. In addition, Temple Contemporary will furnish schools with instrument repair kits. The kits will allow teachers to make basic repairs themselves.

But Symphony for a Broken Orchestra is restoring × restore ARIEL SKELLEY/GETTY IMAGES to return something to its original condition by repairing or cleaning it (verb) Kwame's hobby is restoring antique furniture. more than just instruments, says bass player Joseph Conyers. He is a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Conyers believes the project is highlighting the importance of school music programs. Funding for music education in Philadelphia dropped from $1.3 million in 2010 to $110,000 this year. “Repairing the instruments is the start of a conversation about the role music can play to help young people,” Conyers says.

Blackson hopes the project helps people see the broken instruments as opportunities rather than as problems. “Learning how to play music transforms × transform PBNJ PRODUCTIONS/GETTY IMAGES to change completely (verb) After the caterpillar forms a cocoon, it transforms into a butterfly. us,” he says. “We hope that every child can be transformed through music.”