Gone are the days of using boom whackers for music class at Montello Elementary School in Lewiston. 

The colorful tube instrument is frequently used in elementary schools to teach students melodic pitch and timing. But thanks to fundraising efforts from last year, the Lewiston elementary students have upgraded their equipment to xylophones and metallophones.

A year later, the school has seen an improvement in its music program.

The students can track notes easier and are less likely to get lost in a song, teachers say. They can help their peers and play together at the same time. And, it sounds a lot better than the plastic tubes. 

“It’s a completely different experience for students from beginning to end of the lesson,” said Karissa Nelson, Montello Elementary School’s music teacher of 12 years. “In one school year, they have shown some impressive outcomes and they are sounding really good.”

The fundraising efforts came through Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation’s Adopt a School Program. It’s a national organization that helps qualifying schools raise money for musical instruments by connecting them with donors, the organization’s website says.

Nelson said the organization reached out to a number of schools across the country that qualified for the fundraiser. To qualify, 65% of the student population must be economically disadvantaged; the school must have an established music program; a dedicated music teacher who has taught at the school for at least two years; a music classroom and instruments.

The donation campaign raised $16,500 and was largely supported by Lewiston Youth Activity Fund. In addition to the xylophones and metallophones, which are called barred instruments, Montello purchased four saxophones, a clarinet and a timpani for the band program.

The program helps discount the price of instruments so schools can afford to purchase enough equipment to make a difference in music programs.

“The specific models that the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation provided were better than we could have hoped for, as they included the pitch for each bar printed right in the middle,” Nelson said. “That helps our students strike the bar in the correct place and helps with music literacy by reinforcing which bar makes which sound in relation to the music staff.”

All students in the Lewiston Public Schools from kindergarten to sixth grade have general music education where they sing, dance and learn how to play music.

The district also has a band and strings program that students can opt into. 

At the beginning of the last school year, 300 fifth and sixth grade students were in band across the five elementary schools.

“It specifically enabled five students at Montello to play four saxophones and a clarinet they wouldn’t otherwise be able to play,” she said. No student is turned away from the band or strings program; they might just not have their first choice in an instrument, Nelson said.

The music teacher said grants and opportunities like this help to grow the program and give more students access to music.

Outside of the classroom, she said, practicing music can help with work ethic in teaching students how to practice and try again if they fail.

She’s thankful to have a school district that invests in music education.

“Some school districts support music and and some don’t,” Nelson said. “It’s usually first thing that’s cut. I’m grateful for the building and district administrators to see the equity issues and help the access to as many kids as possible.”