She's giving keys to music
Edward Ortiz: The Sacramento Bee
Published Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008
Somewhere out there is a willing donor with a piano in search of a new home. And somewhere there is a school in need of one. Or so believes pianist Lara Downes, who is taking it upon herself to bridge the gap between the two. Downes recently formed the nonprofit 88 Keys Foundation, an online resource available to schools in need of a workable piano. In operation since June, the foundation has already matched four pianos with regional schools. "In doing years of touring and outreach on the road, I have realized that most schools don't have decent instruments. Not by a long shot," said Downes, the Mondavi Center's pianist in residence since 2004. Downes has carved a niche as a specialist with her "Perspectives" series at Mondavi, which brings the music of 20th century American composers to local audiences. (See box at right for upcoming concert information.) Downes also does outreach to the region as part of UC Davis' Artsbridge program, which provides instruction in the arts for students from kindergarten though 12th grade regionwide. Under the program, charter schools are offered 20 hours of arts instruction and coaching throughout a quarter-long classroom project. The instruction is usually taught by an undergraduate or graduate UC Davis student. As part of her concert outreach, Downes has encountered school pianos in need of repair, some past the point of repair and, sometimes, no piano at all. This has created a situation in which teachers and artists like Downes have the mandate to teach but are hamstrung in that effort without the ever-crucial piano. "We often can't place visiting artists in the schools because of the lack of instruments," Downes said. "After having conversations with people about having pianos available, I realized that there were changes that needed to be made." So far, the 88 Keys Foundation has matched a Yamaha and a Werner upright piano with Granite Bay High School, a Lowrey upright with Woodland's Dingle Elementary and a Gulbransen baby grand with Creative Connections Arts Academy in North Highlands. The pianos typically are instruments that have been in a family for a long time and no are longer used or have been in some form of storage. Two requirements for the piano donation are that the instrument be in working order and that the school arrange for the pickup and delivery of a donated piano. "We were very glad that our piano went to a school," said UC Davis professor emeritus Max Byrd, who donated the blond Lowrey upright to Dingle Elementary. Byrd said he originally bought the instrument so that his daughter could learn music during her high school years. Now it will be used to replace a dilapidated piano, said Jessica Friedman, fourth-grade music teacher at the school. "Not having a working piano in a school means that our kids miss out on a lot of opportunities," Friedman said. Most glaring for Friedman is that concerts at Dingle Elementary have had to make do without live piano accompaniment. And whenever a pianist like Downes has come into the school to do musical outreach, the lack of a piano has required the artist to use a portable synthesizer. "Also, this donation means that kids who otherwise cannot practice at home and want to learn in our after-school program will have somewhere to practice," she said. At the Creative Connections Arts Academy, which is part of the Twin Rivers School District, music teacher David Evans was ecstatic to learn that a piano was on its way to the 4-year-old performing arts charter school. Evans has been teaching music at the school for the last two years. He said he was one of many music teachers whose jobs were terminated during budget cuts at the Rio Linda School District four years ago. "We had a piano here, but it was just a typical school piano that was very old, and of cheap quality," he said. The piano at Creative Connections was so consistently out of tune that Evans preferred to bring his electric keyboard to school daily. "I didn't feel that this was satisfactory for our school since we are trying to become a performing-arts school." Meanwhile, the largest school district in the region – the Sacramento City Unified School District – has different piano issues. The school district is in the process of getting rid of many of its pianos, said Lenny Pollacchi, music specialist at the SCUSD. "Very few of our teachers are using the piano in the classroom," Pollacchi said. In the seven years that Pollacchi has been in his position, he has seen the district bring in roughly 50 pianos. But many of those are no longer around. "We've had to auction off most of them because we have no place to store them," he said. Pollacchi said that, to date, the district has auctioned off 75 pianos through Interschola.com, a school equipment clearinghouse. And Pollacchi believes that the state's new requirement to teach eight-graders algebra will translate into even less music taught in district classrooms. The disappearance of pianos at the district is a sign that the mandate of music education is changing, Downes believes. "There is a new model for arts and music education in the schools.," Downes said. "You can't rely on the old structure of classroom music instruction." "Schools should be making use of the great resources available through performing arts institutions and agencies to bring the arts in." And to that end, Downes said the 88 Keys Foundation Web site is building a resource guide and map so that schools can connect with musical education opportunities statewide. 88 Keys Foundation www.my88keys.org For upcoming performances by Lara Downes: www.laradownes.com
88 KEYS Foundation: Press
Founded by Mondavi Center artist-in-resident and Arts Bridge Director Lara Downes, this non-profit is a matchmaker between unused pianos and public schools in need of a useful music instrument. 88 KEYS is a volunteer-run organization that relies on donor support for basic operating expenses. A number of pianos were donated in the Sacramento region this past year, but schools have requested pianos in areas from the Sierra Foothills to San Diego. 88 KEYS seeks people to volunteer for school or donor liaison, marketing and public relations, and fundraising. People can also simply make monetary donations. Contact John Cron, the foundation secretary at (530) 758-2299, or e-mail Info@my88keys.org.