AMHERST — Like their peers at the other elementary schools in Amherst and Pelham, students in the band and orchestra at Crocker Farm School took the stage at the Amherst Regional Middle School for an annual spring concert in early June, showcasing their musical talent and the instrumental music education they receive.

Fourth grader Alistair Sinclair, who has been playing drums since he was 8 years old, is among the 60 students in band at the school.

But even as he plays percussion and learns mallet instruments under band instructor Lincoln Smith, and continues to take drum lessons at a private Amherst music school, Alistair has been troubled by the lack of a quality drum set at Crocker Farm.

By this fall, though, band students should get a chance to perform on a new drum kit, which will become part of the school’s instrument collection following a recent fundraising campaign he spearheaded.

“I really like playing in percussion at Crocker Farm Elementary and realized the band program didn’t have a drum kit,” Alistair said. “So I asked Mr. Smith if we bought one whether we could play it.”

When Smith informed him that the band program could use the drum kit, Alistair went to work.

“I did a lot with GoFundMe and bakes sales,” Alistair said, explaining that at each of the four spring concerts, information was presented at a table, allowing for the raising of hundreds of dollars. “Everybody in the band and orchestra saw it. and now I’ve reached the goal.”

The initial $650 threshold will mean buying one drum kit and the goal has now been doubled so a second drum kit could be ordered, which will go to Pelham Elementary, which like Crocker Farm doesn’t have one. The drum kit will include a snare drum, a bass drum or kick drum, different platform drums and a suspended cymbal.

The online fundraiser, at https://www.gofundme.com/f/drum-kit-needed-for-school-band, includes a drawing Alistair did and an explanation of the purpose: “This school is in desperate need for a drum kit, Crocker Farm band needs one to improve our music. I'm raising money with the support of my music teachers and family.”

Across the four elementary schools in Amherst and Pelham, 180 students are in band, and 370 fourth through sixth graders are in the combined band and orchestra programs. Band director Ariel Templeton said it has been incredible to see the motivation Alistair has for improving the band and orchestra program. 

“Alistair went above and beyond and was so driven to pull this together,” Templeton said.

With a drum kit already in place at Fort River School, Templeton said she understands how Crocker Farm students will benefit. “This is huge for us,” Templeton said.  “It has made a significant difference for that band.”

She expects to soon place the order so that it arrives in time for the next school year.

Though trumpets and violins typically are among the most popular instruments for elementary school students, Smith said he anticipates with the drum kit that more students will want to hone their skills at percussion.

“Until we have a reliable drum kit at the school, if the students don’t have one at the school, they’re not playing it,” he said.

The current snare drum, for instance, is worn and has been repaired over the years.

That one of their peers pushed to raise the money for the drum kit is also important to students. “They’re more inspired by kids than they are adults,” Smith said.

And he said the new equipment should have a generational impact, improving the education at the elementary schools and for the students as they advance to middle school and high school.

“All of the kids will benefit from the drum kit into adulthood,” Smith said. 

That is also what makes the program so special, Smith said. “This is an enduring part of Amherst public schools,” Smith said.

More than half of the students, or around 200, depend on the inventory of instruments, which allows them to access them for a small fee or no fee at the beginning of the school year. It also means families that would find it cost prohibitive to pay for private lessons have an option.

The program also is supported by the Amherst Regional Public Schools Friends of Performing Arts, a nonprofit organization of parents, guardians and community members. That group has a permanent fundraising page at https://amherstfpa.org/support-donate/. 

Templeton said people there can volunteer time, lead bake sales or other fundraisers and do advocacy, observing that possible reduced hours for instrumental music instruction have been staved off, which would have jeopardized instruction for fourth graders and potentially delayed instruction.

Smith said the community has stepped up, pointing to Amherst recently being named one of the best communities for music education by the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation.

“People want to support kids playing instruments,” Smith said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.