“Replay!” Will Again Benefit Music Programs in Columbus Schools
Contact: Meredith Hart, Marketing & Communications Director
614.247.2675, meredith.hart@wosu.org
COLUMBUS, OHIO, July 9, 2018 – WOSU Public Media’s Classical 101 will once again be connecting with the Columbus community in a unique way this summer. The local classical music radio station will be collecting musical instruments to help ensure that students in Columbus schools can experience the personal and academic benefits that music education affords. Replay! is Classical 101’s second annual instrument drive, connecting aspiring young musicians with instruments. The drive runs Monday, July 16 through Saturday, July 21.
Anyone wishing to donate a new or gently used instrument can drop it off at the offices of WOSU Public Media in the Fawcett Center at 2400 Olentangy River Road in Columbus. The instruments will be delivered to Columbus City Schools to be refreshed and distributed to students for use in school music programs.
Last year, 170 community members donated over 300 instruments. Due to the overwhelming response, this year’s collection week includes extended weekday hours and a Saturday for drop-off. “We hope this year’s response will be just as robust. If you donated an instrument last year, you can help this year by talking it up with your friends and neighbors. It’s amazing to think of the impact of all those instruments flooding into school music programs,” noted Classical 101 Program Director Cheryl Dring.
Supporting music education is an important mission for Classical 101 and WOSU Public Media. Studies have shown that children who participate in music programs perform better, both academically and socially. With Replay!, WOSU hopes to offset the difficulties music educators have in finding adequate resources.
“Last year’s drive benefitted students by enabling us to put more instruments into the hands of students so that they could participate in instrumental music programs,” said the Supervisor for Unified Arts K-12 in Columbus City Schools, Betty Hill. “A lot of the students want to participate but do not have the ability to rent instruments…We truly believe the arts create a pathway, keep them motivated and keep them engaged in ways that they might not otherwise be.”
In lieu of providing instruments, donors can make monetary contributions to support Classical 101 and its programming and community outreach projects. Participants and donors can also share information about the drive with the hashtag #Replay101 on social media. For more information about the Classical 101 Instrument Drive, please visit wosu.org/replay.
Classical 101 is the only 24-hour classical music radio station in Central Ohio. The Columbus station, at 101.1 FM, is the hub of a five-station network of classical stations across Ohio. It features a variety of programs, podcasts, live in-studio performances, and recordings of local orchestras and ensembles. Listeners can also hear the classical music service at WOSU HD-2 on 89.7 FM, through the online stream at wosu.org, and by downloading the free WOSU Public Media mobile app.
WOSU Public Media is a community-supported, noncommercial network of public radio and television stations and digital services.