$30,000 In New Instruments Donated To Local Music Program

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The musicians at Obama Academy in the Pittsburgh Public School District got a big surprise Thursday morning. A company in Cranberry Township helped Christmas come early with a donation of 36 band instruments.

There is no shortage of passion in the Obama Academy Marching Band, but there was a shortage of quality instruments.

"One of the struggles that our marching band has all the time is that people's instruments will break," Obama Academy sophomore Lucy Pearsall-Finch said. "Like right before a performance, [music teacher] Mr. Schrader will try to fix your instrument or you'll have to make it work. Skip over that note, but like I saw all these new instruments, and it was like, 'Oh my gosh!'"

Thursday morning, Fidelity Investments donated $30,000 worth of instruments to the school's music program.

"This literally means the world to me because to have something new like this, it really ensures the future of our music department," senior Selena Nieves said.

"Our old instruments were pretty tattered, pretty tarnished and worn," senior Christopher Floyd said. "These look a lot better."

"They are excited already, already asking me, 'Can we play the instruments now?' and 'This instrument hasn't worked in two months. Can we play it right now?'" music teacher Aisha Sharif-Lucas said. "They are extremely excited. We actually have a performance this evening, so we are hopefully going to go ahead and allow them to use the instruments this evening."

Fidelity works with the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation to choose the schools. Obama is one of roughly 200 that have received more than $2.5 million worth of musical joy.

"You get to invest in the community," Rich Bowler of Fidleity Investments said. "You get to invest in the youth, and you get to invest in the arts. I think when you get an opportunity to do that, I mean you saw their faces, right? I mean, it's just a wonderful thing, and I know what music has done for me on and off throughout my lifetime."

"I grew up in Washington, PA, and had a fantastic instrumental music program there, and everything about it I loved," music teacher Ken Scracher said. "That's why I continue doing it through college and here at Obama."

And the kids can't wait to perform.

"I can tell a great difference," Pearsall-Finch said about her new instrument. "This is amazing. This is beautiful."

Just like the music they love.

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