The Elkhorn Elks recently presented Elkhorn School Band with a donation of $3,500 towards the purchase of a new timpani drum set.
“I’m so pumped about this donation,” said Elkhorn School Band teacher Sandra Unger.
The timpani – a kind of kettle drum - is an expensive item that was out of reach for the small school band.
“I have dreamed of this third timpani for quite a while.” The band program received money from the school’s Parent Council two years ago, which was used to repair the two existing older instruments.
“It was a great decision, as the repair has given new life to their capabilities.”
These drums are made to be tuned to certain pitches. The old drums must be tuned manually, using your ear to match a certain pitch.
“Many times our music asks for more than two notes to be played by the timpani. This means the player must tune ’ ‘on the fly’ using their ear to change the pitch.”
The new drum has a pitch gauge on it, so students can use it to change notes mid-song.
“The addition of this third timpani will allow us to cover three notes at any given time, plus gives us a greater range (high to low) to play from.
“I will be adding this timp to our two existing, and hope to upgrade the other two in years to come.”
Elkhorn Elks raised the money through Chase the Ace. “When we first decided (about three years ago) to hold Chase the Ace draws here in Elkhorn, we decided that we wanted to donate the proceeds of the draws back to the community; the funds for this donation come from those proceeds!" said Elks President Kevin Tutthill.
The draws are held weekly on Saturday nights at the Elkhorn Motor Hotel, with three rounds of meat draws followed by Chase the Ace.
Unger says, “When Kevin approached me about any projects I might have in mind, I decided it may be time to go for that third timpani, as I will never have the funds in my general fund for it.”
She gave the Elks Club a quote.
“They came back with the response that they would pay for the whole thing!” said Unger who was ecstatic to have this new instrument. The Adams Revolution copper bottom drum can be taken apart for easy moving. “This will give us more options on its use... and will enhance the band program for years to come.”
There are 66 students in the Elkhorn School band program. The timpani will be used mostly by senior band percussionists and, occasionally, by Grade 7/8 percussionists.
When a song calls for the use of the timpani, Unger says, it “adds so much colour and texture to the music.”
The new drum arrived at the school just this week.
