Support Merle's Musical Education!

My son, Merle, 13 years old, is a pretty talented kid; not only is he a whiz on drums, but he's also a pretty incredibly fast learner at the violin. He LOVES music theory; my mom, a music teacher who holds a Music Ed. degree from BGSU, said he has pointed out patterns within music theory that she'd never noticed before. (I posted a violin video as well, from last year in 7th grade, after basically two years of intensive study. Look for the link at the bottom. Correction/update: my mom just reminded me, the video below is from only ONE year of intensive study with her. Prior to that, he slowly worked through Suzuki book #1 with my Dad from the age of 5-9).

Our family's situation has changed drastically over the last two years, and I am seeking help in continuing to pay for his weekly drum lesson, with teacher Michael Horrigan, now teaching through the School of Rock Cincinnati. (Some of you may know his teacher's name, as he was the drummer for the band The Afghan Whigs in the 1990s). Michael says over and over, that Merle is one of the most musically talented kids he's ever taught. (He says the other one ended up with a jazz studies degree from CCM at the University of Cincinnati--renowned conservatory). Merle is according to what I've heard, the first kid in School of Rock Cincy history to get all the way through a "book 5" on any instrument, and he whipped through all of them in about a year. Michael is versatile and adept at teaching everything from Rock to Jazz, and shares an oral history of music with Merle as they play. He is a great role model, and Merle looks forward eagerly to Saturdays.

Merle also was the one and only jazz drummer for his middle school jazz band last year; as well as being chosen by his band directors to be the snare drum for the high school marching band drum line, although he is currently just an 8th grader. Also, he received a Superior rating at Solo and Ensemble last year, for both a duet and a solo on his violin. Merle plans to major in Astrophysics in college; and is also an accomplished rubix cuber who taught himself to solve a variety of different shaped/configured types of cubes, in consistently under 40 seconds. He is funny, sweet, helps his mom often without being asked, and is a total joy. He raised the money to buy his used acoustic drum set, by mowing lawns and selling lemonade.

My Dad, Paul Stanbery, who passed away in '21, a virtuosic musician/conductor/composer who brought so much joy into the community, loved Merle SO much; and know that if you donate to help, Poppa Paul will be raining blessings and gratitude down on you! You will also have my undying thanks, as I go through my teaching workday, struggle through graduate school, while keeping my kids in a nice house/school district until I can better pick up the slack in a few years (teacher salaries go up a bit, and once done with grad school I can use summers to produce other income). If I hit the fundraising goal, this will cover one year of drum lessons. If we go over, then I will just breathe easier for longer! (If for some reason we end up with more than we need throughout high school, I would put it into his college fund, and happy to provide receipts for anyone who requests). I should be done with my masters' in summer of '25 (hopefully). THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! I am going to start putting Merle's stuff on youtube, so you will be able to follow his progress over the years, btw.

Violin link below:

Merle in 7th grade Christmas concert with Gibby