October 4, 2000
Instrument sale noteworthy event
Crowd searches for bargains at annual Music Boosters sale
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
An orderly but eager group crowded into a room at the Beckett Building at Northwestern Michigan College Saturday afternoon searching for a bargain - a bargain that would be music to their ears.
Once again, the annual Used Instrument Sale drew students and their parents from near and far looking to snap up a bargain. Sponsored annually for the past eight years by the Traverse City Area Public Schools' Music Boosters Association, the event drew nearly a hundred people to look at more than 60 instruments.
Shoppers sifted through a variety of band and orchestra instruments, including flutes, clarinets, coronets, trumpets, clarinets, violas, violins and cellos. French horns, percussion sets and one lone guitar rounded out the offerings.
"This is an excellent idea," said Carol Stremlow, who came with her husband to find a trombone for her stepson. "The teacher was very knowledgeable and buying this way is better than renting, which costs more."
To help prospective buyers like Stremlow, band teachers from Traverse City Area Public Schools circulated throughout the room lending their expert advice. These music professionals tried out the instruments, demonstrating the strengths and weaknesses of a particular instrument. They also guided buyers on ways to fix any problems they found.
"This sale is a great way to get a student started," said Pete Deneen, director of bands at Traverse City East Junior High School, who volunteered to help at the sale. "Like when you drive a new car off a lot the price drops, the same is true of musical instruments. This way students and parents can find an instrument to try without making so much of an investment."
Sellers from around the region dropped off their unneeded instruments that morning, where organizers had a professional appraiser on hand to help set a fair price. If their instrument sold, they donated 15 percent of the selling price to the Music Boosters, which uses the money to help music programs throughout the district.
Last year, the 48 instruments sold garnered $1,800 for the association. In addition, some owners donated their unsold instruments to the group, who gave them to the schools for their students to use.
"Schools provide the larger or really expensive instruments to students, such as French horns, tubas, drums and oboes," Deneen said. "By and large, most students purchase their own instrument or rent to own."