Joyful Music in Ms. Loomis' Class
Donation protected
“I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity…No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.” – Billy Joel
Music is the language that speaks to and connects all of us. As a music educator in the Mississippi Delta, I have the pleasure of sharing this gift with 225 awesome kids! My students face many challenges beyond your average childhood, but have found great success in their music. The dilapidated instrument supply and classrooms bare of music resources do not reflect the talent and passion of the kids inside. My kids crave spaces where they can be adventurous, expressive, creative, and vocal - and we endeavor to make our music class just that! Our classroom is in need of instrument repairs and materials so our students can continue to grow in their creative abilities and self-expression.
How many of us remember singing hopscotch nursery rhymes on the playground, crafting the perfect road trip mix CD, squeaking our way through beginner band, feeling inspired by Whitney Houston’s National Anthem, or putting on impromptu talent shows after school?
Music connects us to one another, has the power to reach through space and time, and gives us a voice to express all our wild and lovely thoughts! Children especially need music as a vehicle for self-expression, creative output, and as a way to be told that, even as young people, they deserve to share in the great beauties of life.
EVERY child deserves a voice!
I am fortunate enough to teach orchestra and general music to elementary and middle school students in Clarksdale, a small town in Coahoma County, Mississippi. My kids range in age from kindergarten to eighth grade, and all share a sense of determination to live full, joyful lives!
The Mississippi Delta is a place of bigness - big sunsets, big river, big hospitality, big music culture, and big challenges. Blues music history runs deep in the Delta, and my wonderful, brilliant students are inheritors of this musical legacy.
My children have also inherited a school district in which limited funding is constantly outpaced by the needs of the community. My schools service the subsidized housing neighborhood within Clarksdale, and are nestled within a county where almost 40% of residents live below the poverty line. Despite starting at a disadvantage, my kids are NOT deterred! They continue to work towards their academic goals, build healthy friendships, and cling to the suspicion that they are more than what many people expect them to be.
I inherited a team of hardworking, talented kids struggling to make their musical mark in an orchestra with almost no functional instruments and little elementary music resources.
This past year, my 4th grade violinists performed their first concert selection, "Ode to Joy," in front of hundreds of proud parents and worked diligently for weeks to get it just right. My 75 middle school orchestra kids had just 12 functional violins between them, but worked to jump from a beginning to intermediate level in just two semesters due to their perseverance and love of the craft. Joyful noise is infectious!
With your help, I hope to raise $3,920 to pay for long-overdue instrument repairs for both my elementary and middle school orchestras, buy recorders and method books for my 2nd graders, and a class percussion kit and children’s books on music for my elementary classroom.
Here’s the budget breakdown:
String instrument repairs for middle school: $2,000
Includes replacing broken strings, bridges, sound posts and pegs for 14 violins, 7 violas, 9 cellos, and 2 string basses
Violin repairs for elementary school orchestra: $750
Includes replacing broken or missing violin bridges and pegs for 10 violins
New violin bows for elementary school orchestra: $200 ($20 x 10 bows)
Recorders and method books: $480 ($16 x 30 students)
Elementary class percussion kit: $50 from Amazon
Children’s books about music: $150
*Contact me for a full reading wish list!
GoFundMe administrative cost: $290
Total: $3,920
Thank you so much for considering making a donation to these future musicians!
$125 funds repair for 1 cello
$75 funds repair for 1 violin
$20 buys a new violin bow
$16.13 funds a year of music education for one of my 225 students
$9 buys a new recorder for our elementary class set
$5 contributes to all of the above!
Thank you again for believing ALL children have the right to a music education.
“Music may achieve the highest of all mission: she may be a bond between nations, races, and states, who are strangers in many ways; she may unite what is disunited and bring peace to what is hostile. Dr. Max Bendiner”
Music is the language that speaks to and connects all of us. As a music educator in the Mississippi Delta, I have the pleasure of sharing this gift with 225 awesome kids! My students face many challenges beyond your average childhood, but have found great success in their music. The dilapidated instrument supply and classrooms bare of music resources do not reflect the talent and passion of the kids inside. My kids crave spaces where they can be adventurous, expressive, creative, and vocal - and we endeavor to make our music class just that! Our classroom is in need of instrument repairs and materials so our students can continue to grow in their creative abilities and self-expression.
How many of us remember singing hopscotch nursery rhymes on the playground, crafting the perfect road trip mix CD, squeaking our way through beginner band, feeling inspired by Whitney Houston’s National Anthem, or putting on impromptu talent shows after school?
Music connects us to one another, has the power to reach through space and time, and gives us a voice to express all our wild and lovely thoughts! Children especially need music as a vehicle for self-expression, creative output, and as a way to be told that, even as young people, they deserve to share in the great beauties of life.
EVERY child deserves a voice!
I am fortunate enough to teach orchestra and general music to elementary and middle school students in Clarksdale, a small town in Coahoma County, Mississippi. My kids range in age from kindergarten to eighth grade, and all share a sense of determination to live full, joyful lives!
The Mississippi Delta is a place of bigness - big sunsets, big river, big hospitality, big music culture, and big challenges. Blues music history runs deep in the Delta, and my wonderful, brilliant students are inheritors of this musical legacy.
My children have also inherited a school district in which limited funding is constantly outpaced by the needs of the community. My schools service the subsidized housing neighborhood within Clarksdale, and are nestled within a county where almost 40% of residents live below the poverty line. Despite starting at a disadvantage, my kids are NOT deterred! They continue to work towards their academic goals, build healthy friendships, and cling to the suspicion that they are more than what many people expect them to be.
I inherited a team of hardworking, talented kids struggling to make their musical mark in an orchestra with almost no functional instruments and little elementary music resources.
This past year, my 4th grade violinists performed their first concert selection, "Ode to Joy," in front of hundreds of proud parents and worked diligently for weeks to get it just right. My 75 middle school orchestra kids had just 12 functional violins between them, but worked to jump from a beginning to intermediate level in just two semesters due to their perseverance and love of the craft. Joyful noise is infectious!
With your help, I hope to raise $3,920 to pay for long-overdue instrument repairs for both my elementary and middle school orchestras, buy recorders and method books for my 2nd graders, and a class percussion kit and children’s books on music for my elementary classroom.
Here’s the budget breakdown:
String instrument repairs for middle school: $2,000
Includes replacing broken strings, bridges, sound posts and pegs for 14 violins, 7 violas, 9 cellos, and 2 string basses
Violin repairs for elementary school orchestra: $750
Includes replacing broken or missing violin bridges and pegs for 10 violins
New violin bows for elementary school orchestra: $200 ($20 x 10 bows)
Recorders and method books: $480 ($16 x 30 students)
Elementary class percussion kit: $50 from Amazon
Children’s books about music: $150
*Contact me for a full reading wish list!
GoFundMe administrative cost: $290
Total: $3,920
Thank you so much for considering making a donation to these future musicians!
$125 funds repair for 1 cello
$75 funds repair for 1 violin
$20 buys a new violin bow
$16.13 funds a year of music education for one of my 225 students
$9 buys a new recorder for our elementary class set
$5 contributes to all of the above!
Thank you again for believing ALL children have the right to a music education.
“Music may achieve the highest of all mission: she may be a bond between nations, races, and states, who are strangers in many ways; she may unite what is disunited and bring peace to what is hostile. Dr. Max Bendiner”
Organizer
Camille Loomis
Organizer
Clarksdale, MS
