Community Foundations Come Together to Save Music Instruments

Suquamish Foundation & Kingston North Kitsap Rotary Provide Funding to Repair Instruments for Kingston Middle School

One of NKSF’s large grant awards this year received generous support from the Suquamish Foundation and Kingston North Kitsap Rotary Foundation. 

At the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, Rosanna Lampano, Kingston Middle School band teacher, inventoried over 100 music instruments in a state of disrepair, and unusable. NKSF stepped up with a grant award of $5,000 to begin the repair process. With the help of our local community partner foundations, the renewed instruments enhanced the band program experience all around.

“Each of these instruments have been made available to use by the 100+ students enrolled in the band program.”

Kingston Middle School maintains an inventory of instruments for students who want to participate in band, but whose families may not be able to afford the purchase of an instrument. With a greater arrangement of instruments, Rosanna was able to enhance the ensemble this year.

“The grant funds have allowed me to repair 23 instruments overall and at least 1 in each instrument category (flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, baritone, tuba, etc.). Having these instruments available for use in the classroom has been a game-changer for the band program here at Kingston Middle School. Not only have I been able to loan instruments out to students in need but I have also been able to diversify the instrumentation in each of the ensembles. This allows students the opportunity to perform more challenging repertoire and to increase exposure to lesser known instruments.”

The array of new instrument types available also allowed students to explore different sounds and provided all band students with an appreciation of musical collaboration through the nuances of a more fully formed band composition.

“Upon learning that I had bass clarinets repaired and available for use in the music classroom, 2 students requested [a] transition to these instruments (from a regular clarinet) during classroom instruction. This proved to be an amazing switch overall for both the concert band and the students involved. The students who switched instruments were excited about the instrument, found increased success, and gained confidence in their overall abilities. This also had a dramatic effect on the sound of our band. The increased instrumentation allowed for a more improved sound and access to more challenging repertoire.”

Providing the opportunity for students to explore music and find new passions with the support of our community partners is just what NKSF is all about. 

Thank you Rosanna Lampano for bringing such a critical need to our attention, and to the Kingston North Kitsap Rotary Club and the Suquamish Foundation for working with us to help bring this program back up to a standard of excellence.