MANSFIELD — It might as well have been Christmas morning for orchestra director Lindsay Brown.
But instead of Santa Claus, the cheerful old man with a load full of presents was Larry Miller, the owner of Metronome Music.
Last week, Metronome Music donated 55 violas, violins and cellos to the Malabar Intermediate’s orchestra program. Miller, who has owned the store for 61 years, personally dropped off the truckload of instruments.
“They’re trying to grow their program and it’s a wonderful orchestra,” Miller said. “Both my kids were in it. I don’t want it to struggle.”
Miller said he donated about 90 percent of his stringed inventory (not including guitars) to Malabar.
While Miller said Metronome’s business is booming overall, sales of stringed instruments aren’t what they used to be. Only two local school districts have orchestra programs, so it no longer makes sense to stock them.
Brown was thrilled by the donation.
“Because every child is a different size, I always have to worry about whether I will have enough instruments because our program is rapidly growing,” Brown said. “It helps take that burden off.
“I would have been happy if someone brought me five instruments. Going above and beyond is truly what it was. I could not be more grateful.”
Malabar’s orchestra program surges post-pandemic
Today, Brown has close to 100 students in Malabar’s fourth, fifth and sixth grade orchestras.
But when she joined Malabar as orchestra director six years ago, there were less than 25 students in the program — then the pandemic happened.
“That really hit us, when we had to go online,” Brown said. “We had to really rebuild the program.”
Brown said the class boosts students’ confidence. They realize their individual potential and the rewards of accomplishing something as a group.
“Teaching these students a skill goes way beyond just teaching them music,” she said. “It’s life lessons. It’s teaching them the love of music.”
“They see their friends having fun and they love what they hear. They see what they can do and they want to be a part of it.”
