In Psalm 100, we are told to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth!” The bands at Walther Christian Academy are dedicated to this instruction and strive to play excellent music at a high level to the glory of our Lord and Savior. In order to accomplish this level of excellence, the band needs to have a balanced instrumentation. Low brass is crucial to having a balanced band, and owning a low brass instrument is expensive and prohibitive. Many low brass players from both public and private schools rely on the school owning those instruments. The euphonium is no exception.

Walther strives to allow all students who want to play an instrument to do so free of charge and currently has an inventory of nearly 180 instruments. 84 of these instruments are currently being used by students in the Walther High School, Middle School, and Grade School Band Programs. In their entire inventory, Walther owns only one euphonium which will soon no longer be usable because of its age and condition. The Walther bands dream of receiving a donation to help cover the cost of replacing their one euphonium in their instrument inventory that desperately needs to be replaced in order to continue making a joyful noise in the low brass section.

Currently, the euphonium that Walther owns is nearing the end of its functioning life. It cost us $225 the last time it was serviced, and the technician noted that because of the corrosion, some of the tuning slides no longer can be unstuck and that eventually the corrosion will cause holes in the brass. In addition to the cost of keeping it working, it takes away from class time when the instructor needs to stop rehearsal in order to help the student try to fix whatever issue is happening. This is the only euphonium in our 180 instrument inventory and is our most pressing need to replace at this point.

The second photo below is a close up of the pipes of the instrument and points out the biggest issue on the instrument, which is the lead pipe. The lead pipe is that pipe that leads from the mouthpiece to the rest of the instrument. It is a darker metal because it has already been patched once because of corrosion. You can also see from this close up photo a condition called “red rot” which, once it starts, cannot be stopped on brass instruments. All of the pink spots that you see on the instrument in the close up photo are spots of red rot which will eventually corrode through the brass.

Fund this Dream for $2,000.