School Notes: Mascoma Graduates Perform Benefit Concert for Music Programs
By David Corriveau
Valley News Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
(Published in print: Tuesday, December 29, 2015)
In their latest push to build up their bank of instruments for elementary-school musicians in the Mascoma Valley Regional School District, the Friends of Mascoma Foundation had Hannah Hoffman and Brooks Hubbard at “Hello, again.”
“I was emailed about three months ago by Andrew Cushing, a fellow Mascoma alum (2008) who was on the committee and expressed his excitement about their idea for a benefit concert, and how they hoped for alumni to perform,” Hoffman, a 2010 graduate of Mascoma Valley Regional High School and a Brattleboro-based singer-songwriter, wrote in an email. “Brooks and I were his first thought. I was immediately interested and donated my performance right then and there.”
Hubbard, another 2010 Mascoma grad who attended Enfield Village School and Indian River School with Hoffman and now is based in Nashville, also signed on as soon as he heard about the Mascoma Music Matters concert, which will start tonight at 6 at the Mountain Meadow Golf Lounge and Event Center in Canaan. Proceeds from ticket sales ($5 to $10) will go toward the Friends’ initiative to match the $5,000 that an anonymous benefactor offered to donate toward the instrument bank.
“I think this is incredibly important, as important as other school studies,” Hubbard, home for the holidays, said last week. “It’s a chance for students to create something with other kids their age. ... You get to make noise and learn a skill that will continuously bring enjoyment if you let it in your heart. The bond between band students is no different than the bond between teammates on the field, and I did both. I look back with nothing but fondness of the great early days learning music and life.”
On its website, the foundation reported that by the end of last week, the bank contained one alto saxophone, two clarinets, two flutes, one trombone and one trumpet. The group’s immediate goal is to acquire another alto sax, one more trombone and one more trumpet.
“I know coming from an area where there isn’t much to do, being involved in a relatively structured creative environment can make all the difference in the world for a young person who may not have structure or an ability to express themselves in any other area of their life,” Hoffman said. “Music is therapeutic.”
Hannah Hoffman and Brooks Hubbard will perform the Mascoma Music Matters concert from 6 to 9 tonight at the Mountain Meadow Golf Lounge and Event Center. Admission is $5 to $10. For more information about the concert and about the instrument bank, visit friendsofmascoma.org or email cacusick@friendsofmascoma.org or call 603-632-4303.