Beth Bales: Decorate Your Home and Give the Gift of Music

Christmas greens mean greenbacks for the Geneva Music Boosters organization, now deep in its major fund-raiser, the annual Wreath Sale. 

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The organization is selling round wreaths in several sizes; centerpieces; swags for mailboxes, lanterns and doors; shaped wreaths (candy cane, heart, tree, star or snowflake) and, among a few other items, our family’s annual purchase, 25 feet of roping. It would not be Christmas without Music Boosters roping draped on our porch railings.  

As the Boosters say, “Beautify your home with fresh greenery while you beautify your schools with a contribution to the gift of music this holiday season.”

And what a gift it is. 

During the last school year, Music Boosters provided:

• Tambourines, egg shakers, finger cymbals, wooden frog rasps, classical guitars boom whackers, music styles bingo, “kids kongas” and recorder fingering posters, Remo 100 key-tuned Tubano Drum, racquet balls (to help students learn a steady beat), instrument stand for a bass xylophone, six student guitars and gig bags and two audio-technica condenser microphones, for the elementary music program.
• Two microphones, one tripod mic stand, two monster mic cables, ¾ size and ½ size Glasser Round Fiberglass German Bass Bow, four choral octavos for Viking Voices, twenty telex headphones, piano tuning for two concerts and two times for the classroom piano, two German ½ size bass bows, Christopher model full size cello, twenty Wenger Bravo music stands for the middle school program. 
• A double horn, two maple baroque soprano recorders, 12 classic black music stands with one large moving cart and seated risers and caddy for the program.

Those items totaled about $12,000. That’s a lot of wreaths and roping.

Beyond instruments, stands and items teachers want and need, Boosters also provide the gift of learning, via $8,600 in scholarships to middle and high school students. The organization also has a clinician budget of $2,000 for which any music teacher may submit a request.

And Boosters has purchased all of the orchestra and choir uniforms for Geneva High School students. A few years ago, when fellow (and also now former!) GHS parent Debbie Coffland and I were at our wits’ end trying to organize choir uniforms without adequate storage space, came to the rescue, purchasing Z racks on which to hang the uniforms. Z racks may not as exotic as new instruments but they certainly were welcome. And they’re also necessary.

Greens orders may be made via middle or high school music students through Oct. 20. Orders placed directly to the Boosters group itself will be accepted until Oct. 27. 

And those greens will arrive at Geneva High School Nov. 19, in plenty of time to dress up the home for the holidays.

For more information, contact Gretchen Weber, 630-208-1259, or Nancy Brecht at 630-262-1778, or via e-mail at wreathsale@genevamusicboosters.org. The Boosters’ website is www.genevamusicboosters.org.