Twelfth Annual Effort to Bring Donated, Restored Instruments to Underfunded Colorado Schools

Nothing lifts spirits in challenging times like making music, and the annual Bringing Music to Life Instrument Drive intends to bring that gift to Colorado students in underfunded music programs. The annual drive, now in its 12th year, and adapted to ensure safe social distancing, will run from March 7-20.

Coloradans are asked to bring the gently-used band and orchestra instruments they no longer play to any of 17 donation locations across the state. All locations can be found here Bringing Music to Life.

Locations: 17 donation locations available throughout the state of Colorado. Visit bringingmusictolife.org/donation-locations for a complete list.

Instruments Needed: Band and orchestra instruments in good condition, including strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, guitars, and electronic keyboards. We cannot accept upright and grand pianos or organs.

Applications for Instruments: Teachers and principals can apply online at bringingmusictolife.org.
The deadline is March 31, 2022. 

Notes of Interest: 

Bringing Music to Life was founded in 2014 by executive director Steve Blatt as a project of the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center to continue the instrument drives he had established and managed at Colorado Public Radio.

As a result of the 2021 Drive, Bringing Music to Life awarded 597 instruments to 41 Colorado elementary, middle, and high schools. Since the drives began, more than 6,500 instruments have been awarded.

A new student gains access to each donated instrument after its previous user graduates, BMtL estimates conservatively that more than 17,500 Colorado students have benefited from the past eleven years of Instrument Drive donations.

Instrument repairs are the single largest cost of this effort, with repairs averaging about $165 per instrument. The Colorado Institute of Musical Instrument Technology and Boomer Music Company repair donated instruments for Bringing Music to Life, with CIOMIT doing so at a significant discount on labor.

Instrument donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.