Tom,
I wanted to thank you for the instruments and working them into your
build schedule. First of all, they are beautiful! and they have a
great tone.
Secondly, the money that I received as a donation was from a woman who
is a parent at this school. She was diagnosed a year ago with stage 4
breast cancer that had matasticized. It has since spread to her
bones, and they have just found the first signs of it in her blood.
She is 45 years old. She wanted to donate the money to the music
program to "do what ever I wanted with," because she was greatly
impacted by something she witnessed in my music program about four
years ago. Four years ago, I borrowed a complete set of your marimbas
from Carinn Ormson, a good friend of mine here in Vancouver. The
entire school took a month off of our "regular" curriculum and learned
all about the marimbas. We then performed by grade level for the
parents. She was blown away that students could make such beautiful
music. Buying these instruments with her donation seemed fitting
somehow. And, they arrived just in time. She has been given about a
month to live, and is being honored this Saturday night at the Relay
for Life dinner here in Washougal. We got many pictures with the kids,
and of their faces when they saw the instruments! (priceless!)
I want to thank you for the build, but also for creating a very
special gift for a great woman to give to these students. I should
also thank you for the gift that you allowed my students to give which
was that of great music.
Thank you again, Tom.
Bryn Scamahorn
Music Cape Horn-Skye Elementary
