Boysen commissions. The remainder was a combination of booster money and school budget.
Most communities don’ t have the benefit of a CEEF, but arts grants and requests through service groups such as the Rotary Club are viable funding sources.
I was inspired to go this education route by two people: Prof. Malcolm“ Bill” Rowell of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Pat Michaud, the very fine teacher at Hampden Academy. Mr. Rowell always stressed how commissions give a vibrancy to the educational process and are a way of paying forward. Pat, a pioneer in commissioning in these parts, showed me it could be done in Maine.
A good project for the new school year might be working your way through the steps we discussed today and.... picking up the phone to call a composer.
Tom Lizotte is director of bands at Cape Elizabeth High School. A frequent contributor to The Instrumentalist magazine, he is a member of the Maine Music Educators Assn. Hall of Fame.