Sept 29, 2023 -- The Friends of Music has donated a set of African drums to Wildwood Middle School in Jefferson County.
The set includes three nesting tubano drums and six nesting hand drums. Wildwood music teacher Tanner Petri said the drums were needed because "in the past, students would either share drums, or take turns playing drums. Now we have more than doubled the number of drums in [our] music rooms. Every student has the opportunity to play a drum every day!"
The donation, which is valued at $500, is part of a Friends grant program to support music education in Berkeley and Jefferson County schools. The grants typically involve instruments and music supplies not covered by regular school budgets. The grants are awarded annually based on applications submitted by music teachers.
The Friends of Music organization is a Shepherdstown-based, non-profit group founded in 1999 to support and promote musical excellence. It supports the Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra, the only professional classical music orchestra in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, and one of only three such orchestras in the state. Full information about the Friends is available at www.friendswv.org.