Music department expands fundraising efforts

This year, the Music department introduced the Play-A-Thon and brought back its Stanford football game fundraiser as part of its efforts to raise money.

The Play-A-Thon, the department’s first and largest fundraiser of the year, was held on Sept. 28 at the Aragon theatre. All music students were required to participate and find sponsors. Instead of each ensemble playing individually, ensemble groups joined together to perform. Each ensemble group was given one hour to sing or play as many songs as they could, and individuals acquired sponsors who donated certain amounts of money per song played. By its end, the Play-A-Thon raised $10,000.

Band teacher Troy Davis says, “It’s a challenge to see how many songs each of our ensembles can play in an hour. Our goal is to try to get at least 40 songs performed in under an hour.” He continues, “We suggested that people donate 25 cents per song and each student is asked to get about four to five sponsors.”

Sophomore Jordan Tom says, “It’s a way for music students to get better and it’s a more efficient way to fundraise than most events that we have.”

However, not all students found it entirely successful. Senior Alex Griffis says, “It was good in theory, but because none of us have done it before, it was a bit jumbled and confusing. There were less people since we didn’t advertise it as something that you could come and see and enjoy, it was more like a fundraiser that you might want to go to.”

Since the Play-A-Thon was the major music fundraiser of the year, Davis continues, “We really [tried] to push this. We have eliminated some of the other fundraisers in the past, so this is going to take place of that.” Rather than doing the usual magazine sales or other concerts– Music from the Heart, the Play-A-Thon replaced those.

However, some students do still miss older fundraisers. Senior Brendan Stanton says, “This year we aren’t doing Music from the Heart, which was everybody’s favorite it seemed … and now we’re left with this fundraiser, that I’m sure was fun and people enjoyed, but everyone loved Music from the Heart.”

Aside from the Play-A-Thon, Aragon also fundraised at Stanford by helping out with the snack stands. The Stanford fundraiser was done several years back, and the music department chose to do it again this year. At Stanford, volunteers worked shifts at the concession stand during a football game, and 15 percent of the proceeds went back to Aragon.
Davis says, “These fundraisers will go toward helping fund our programs—instrument repair, purchasing new instruments and equipment, buying sheet music, and bringing in coaches and clinicians to work with the students in class.”

Sophomore Ethan Chao concludes, “Volunteering at Stanford is a good approach to help generate money, but it will need the long-term and consistent dedication. If this new fundraiser is coordinated correctly with enough dedication, it will be good to continue for years.”