Local schools benefit from recent drum donations
Posted Jul 1, 2010 By Ashley Kulp
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EMC News - Students at Kemptville Public School (KPS) and Holy Cross School can now march to the beat of their new sets of drums following a generous donation made to both schools recently.
Ashley Kulp, Kemptville EMC
Kemptville Public School (KPS) and Holy Cross School were the lucky recipients of a set of brand new REMO NSL Tubano drums and Apex Djembes to enhance their respective music programs. The donation was made possible through Tim Anderson, the Ontario product specialist and sales representative for Direct Music Supply, and Class Axe owner Bob Besharah. Above, back row from left: Besharah, Anderson and KPS music teacher Jason Salberg show off the drum donation on June 24 with help from Grade 2 students at KPS.
Each school received a set of six state-of-the-art REMO NSL (Not So Loud) Tubano drums and REMO's Apex Djembes for their music programs. The two schools have the distinction of being some of the first in the world to receive and play the instruments. The donations were made possible through Tim Anderson, the Ontario product specialist and sales representative for Direct Music Supply of Niagara Falls, New York (the Canadian distributor for REMO), as well as Class Axe owner Bob Besharah.
Anderson, a Kemptville resident with a child who currently attends KPS, approached KPS music teacher Jason Salberg last September regarding the possibility of donating drums to the music program.
"I am a strong advocate and supporter of music programs in schools and realize that funding is basically non-existent for these programs," Anderson explained in a press release regarding the donation. "I wanted to do whatever I could to help promote music and especially rhythm in my little corner of the world."
"It's been proven that doing and playing music makes kids smarter and with the funding tighter, I wanted to help out," he continued, adding that he will be helping out two schools in Toronto next year as well.
When Anderson returned in January from the NAMM musical instrument trade show in Anaheim, he was impressed with what he had seen from REMO, when they unveiled the NSL Tubano drums at the show. Designed to have full tone but be much quieter than traditional Tubanos, Anderson commented that "these are perfect drums for a school environment," as the volume is much lower when they are played, to avoid distracting neighbouring classrooms.
Once he had decided these were the drums he wished to donate, Anderson approached Besharah to purchase the drums through him. Besharah wasted no time jumping on board with the project and was so impressed with the idea, he committed to donating an identical set of drums to Holy Cross as well.
"I wanted to do it through Bob and work together on this because it's good for local business," he remarked. "Bob has an unbelievable music store and a great attitude."
Due to the fact that the REMO drums were brand new and only introduced this past January, the schools didn't actually receive the donations until May, when they were shipped.
Salberg was impressed with the craftsmanship of the drums and their playability. He noted that the donation is a welcome addition to the school's music program. "We have a 'Songs from Around the World' unit where we try to incorporate all of the different drums and this donation will enhance that unit tremendously," he stated, adding that the design of the drums also allows them to be stacked inside one another to take up less space.
Due to the fact that the REMO drums were brand new and only introduced this past January, the schools didn't actually receive the donations until May, when they were shipped. It may have taken a while, but Anderson has already seen firsthand the enjoyment and music that students are making with the new drums.
"I have already witnessed the drums in action at the KPS Kindergarten Celebration of Learning and it was amazing. It's incredibly fulfilling to see young children enjoying making music," he concluded.
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