National Foundation Awards Grant to Stell

Stell Middle School will soon receive new musical instruments valued at $32,625 thanks to The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. An application for support was submitted by Stell and the foundation found the program to be a worthwhile investment, allowing more students to be able to play and experience the benefits of music education. With many school music programs across the country losing vital funding, the foundation helps under-served schools with minimal budgets by donating new instruments, often replacing some that are more than 30 years old. The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation donates musical instruments to under-funded schools in an effort to give youngsters the many benefits of music education, help them to be better students, and inspire creativity and expression through playing music. The organization was inspired by the 1995 motion picture Mr. Holland’s Opus and founded by Michael Kamen, who composed the music for the movie and countless others. In the last 20 years, over 20,000 instruments have been donated to 1,415 schools across the country.