I will be going to Haiti for two weeks in early August, to teach six young musicians as much as I can about repairing, maintaining, and tuning pianos. This is under the auspices of two organizations, BLUME and the Music Fund, which have created repair programs for stringed and wind instruments there in the past few years. Music Fund also works in the Congo, Mozambique, Morocco and Palestine, doing similar work supporting music education and musical instruments in particular.
In making concrete plans, creating a list of bare minimum necessary tools and supplies, I have been told that the available budget is only large enough to provide about one quarter of what is needed, if purchased new. A large part of what I need consists of basic tool kits to be able to tune, regulate and repair uprights, one for each student.
I think that most of us, over the years, have collected lots of extra tools of one sort or another, set aside because a better version came along or the like. So I wonder if some of you might be willing to donate some tools to the cause, particularly by bringing them to Des Moines (or sending them with a colleague who is going), so that I can collect them and take them along.
If you would like to do that, please contact me privately so I can let you know what is needed and keep track for planning purposes. Also, if anyone is moved to make a monetary donation to either organization, please do so. They are bare bones, seat of the pants groups of volunteers who are trying to make a difference in the lives of people who live in pretty dire circumstances.
BTW, a few years back Rick Baldassin donated a grand piano he rebuilt and shipped it to Haiti as part of the same program. The executive director of BLUME is a cellist, and a tuning client of mine, who goes there two to three times a year to teach string techniques.
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Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm@unm.eduhttp://fredsturm.nethttp://www.artoftuning.com"We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same." - Carlos Casteneda
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