CINCINNATI — Exposure to fine arts programs in school can change a student's life — from boosting their confidence to encouraging creativity or offering scholarship opportunities.
"I'll get excited every single day when I get out of school and get to come here and play," Alana Crutchfield, a seventh grader at Woodward, said of her time with the school's marching band.
Since starting, the band has performed with old hand-me-down instruments or borrowed from neighboring schools. For the first time in program history, though, the Woodward Marching Bulldogs are receiving a grant from Hamilton County that will allow for brand-new equipment.
Band director and Central State University alum Tyree Gilbert was able to purchase two new sousaphones and cymbals — and he said this is only the beginning.
"I found a music site that was based out of Wisconsin and they were selling for like $1,900 each. Usually a sousaphone, brand new, was about $8,000-10,000," Gilbert said.
For several members of the band, it was the first time they got to work with new instruments.
"I was shocked because I had never seen like a new tuba," ninth grader Willie Stevens said. "I can actually play better — the old tuba I was on was restricting me for some reason."
As the band prepares for more performances and plays to a new tune, Gilbert said they're raising funds to march in New Orleans next year for Mardi Gras.
"It's cool because you see students their age and younger in marching band doing parades, and also, you just learn about the culture of where jazz came from," Gilbert said.
The Woodward Marching Bulldogs are accepting any instrument and financial donations.
"That instrument, that paintbrush, that lighting can help get that student out there, get out their comfort zone and make an impact," Gilbert said.
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