NORTHFIELD — For the second time in two years, the music programs in the Fine Arts Department at Pioneer Valley Regional School received a holiday gift all its own — a $500 donation.
According to Band Director Nathan Holesovsky, the donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a current Pioneer faculty member who “doesn’t play a musical instrument themselves, but went to a college where they were always inspired by the marching band and performing groups.”
Holesovsky said the same donor gave $500 last year, which supported scholarships for students who couldn’t afford to go on the band trip to the Heritage Stage in Toronto. This year, the money is being used to upgrade the department’s recording equipment.
“It’s just a wonderful thing to know that there are people out there willing to not just say ‘Music is important,’ but to help out,” Holesovsky said of the donor.
The department had audio recording equipment that was nearly 10 years old and “had lived its life,” Holesovsky said. This year’s donation, plus $500 from band and chorus fundraisers, allowed the department to buy a Superscope digital recorder that arrived in early December, just in time for the annual holiday concert.
The equipment allows Holesovsky to play back his students’ music after a performance to evaluate how they played, and produce CD recordings to sell to families.
“That’ll be a major part of our preparation,” Holesovsky said, particularly before the Massachusetts Instrumental & Choral Conductors Association’s music festival this spring. The equipment will also be used to record the annual Pops Concert and upcoming musical “Rent.”