By Lindsay Hocker, lhocker@qconline.com

More photos from this shoot

Photo: John Greenwood Eagle Ridge School has received several musical instruments, with a total value of about $10,000, from the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. The application for the instruments was submitted by Kim Priaulx, the school's music director. Rehearsing with some of the new instruments are, from left, Xavier Pena, alto sax, Kinzy Stanley, alto sax, Jasmine Huset, trumpet, Haley Davidson, clarinet, Hannah James, oboe and James Cline, bass clarinet. The school received a trombone and English horn.

Thanks to a generous donation, more music is being heard at Eagle Ridge School.

Without the recent donation of instruments worth an estimated $10,000, school band director and music teacher Kim Priaulx said about three students couldn't have joined band this winter.

So while some students were excited about playing something new because "it wasn't rusty, it wasn't on its last leg,"Mrs. Priaulx said for those three, "it simply meant they got to play."

The school received the instruments a few weeks ago from The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. The foundation helps underserved students through donations of new and refurbished instruments.

Donated instruments included two trombones, two trumpets, two alto saxophones, an oboe and a bass clarinet. The foundation allowed an English horn, which it mailed by accident, to be donated to the district's high school band program.

If these instruments hadn't been gifted to the school, the students would have had to wait until fall to try to join the band, when getting in would again depend on if an instrument was available.

"We definitely needed the extra instruments to get more kids involved,"Mrs. Priaulx said.

Many Eagle Ridge School parents are unable to afford the cost of renting a musical instrument for their child (about 80 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunches), so only a few of the 31 band students have their own rental instruments. Most use instruments from the school or the Quad City Symphony's Instruments for Kids Program.

Mrs. Priaulx applied for the grant after her grandmother told her about the foundation. She learned about it from reading a Wisconsin newspaper article about a donation.

"To receive such a large grant was a surprise -- a very exciting surprise," Mrs. Priaulx said.

Since she started at Eagle Ridge School two years ago, Mrs. Priaulx said she's seen an increase in participation and interest among the students. Shes plans to continue expanding the music program, and wants to eventually have a choir.

"As long as Ican keep the excitement going, that's what Ihope to do," she said.

Andy Richmond, superintendent/principal of Eagle Ridge School, said Mrs. Priaulx has made great progress with the music program.

"She's hit the ground running,"he said. Since she started, participation in the music program has doubled, he said.

Mr. Richmond said he enjoys sitting in on music classes to do evaluations because of the look on kids' faces when they're able to put notes together to create a song.

"They're doing something they haven't been able to do before."