Winter gala raises $10,000 for Hoover High band

Hoover High School Band Boosters raised about $10,000 with a Winter Starlight Gala on Jan. 14 to help raise money to buy more band instruments.

The event was held at Prince of Peace Catholic Church and included pop and jazz music from the Hoover High School Symphonic Winds Band, First Edition Jazz Band and marimba percussion ensemble.

There also was a silent auction, coffee donated by Starbucks and desserts donated by the Shannon Trotter State Farm Insurance agency.

This is the first time the band has put on this event, and they were pleased to surpass their $10,000 goal, Band Booster President Beth Aho said. The boosters were especially grateful to the Hoover Arts Alliance for a $2,000 donation and to the 40 or so businesses that donated items for the silent auction, she said.

Fund raising will continue because the instruments the band needs cost more than $10,000, Aho said.

In the past five years, the Hoover High band has grown from 250 members to 320 and could have as many as 375 next year as a larger class of music students move up from Bumpus and Simmons middle schools, Aho said.

However, it has been difficult to keep up with the growth, Aho said. Some of the instruments, such as tubas, baritone saxophones and percussion instruments, cost thousands of dollars and historically have been purchased by the band, she said.

But with so many students, the band no longer has enough instruments, she said. In the past, the principal has been able to help buy band instruments using his discretionary money, but principal discretionary funds have been cut due to limited revenue and those dollars are spread thinner over many groups, she said.

Students now are sharing instruments, which is really not very sanitary and causes problems when students need to take instruments home to practice, Aho said.

Donations can be sent to the Hoover High Band in care of Matthew Cicero at Hoover High School, 1000 Buccaneer Drive, Hoover, AL 35244.