WHEELING — When Randall Reid-Smith, curator of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, introduced the Triadelphia Middle School band Monday morning, he asked them to “play loud and proud.”

Band students at Triadelphia and Warwood middle schools soon will be playing even louder and prouder, thanks to $40,000 grants each of them received from the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.

Reid-Smith and officials from Ohio County Schools and state and local government visited both Triadelphia and Warwood on Monday morning to celebrate the grant awards, which will give the band programs for both schools the ability to furnish their band rooms with brand new equipment.

Along with Reid-Smith were Del. Diana Winzenreid, R-Ohio, state Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Ohio, OCS Superintendent Kim Miller and Assistant Superintendent Rick Jones and Ohio County Commissioner Zach Abraham.

Save The Music, according to its website, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students, schools, and communities realize their full potential through the power of making music. It does so by providing capital investments in musical equipment and technology, providing support for teachers through professional development, research and content, and continuing to advocate for music as a necessary educational component.

Chiho Feindler — Save the Music’s chief program officer, who attended the celebrations at both schools — said the grants announced Monday will ensure all students in those middle schools have access to band.

“I think it’s fundamentally wrong that some kids get to have and some kids do not get to have,” Feindler said. “So, in West Virginia, we’re really fortunate to really be partnering at the state level so that we can really ensure the equity throughout the state to make sure that each student has the opportunity.”

Warwood Middle School band students pose with school and government officials with the banner signifying that the school’s band received a $40,000 grant from the Save the Music Foundation. Officials are, from left, Wheeling Park band director Jason Birch, OCS Superintendent Kim Miller, Del. Diana Winzenreid, R-Ohio, Warwood Principal Jim Rowing, Ohio County Board of Education President Andy Garber, state Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Ohio, Save the Music Chief Program Officer Chiho Feindler and Warwood band director Erin Steffey. (Photo Courtesy of Ohio County Schools)

Warwood band director Erin Steffey said the new instruments couldn’t come sooner. Some of the instruments students currently use have been in use since the old Warwood High days. Steffy said the grant is a game-changer.

“Oh my goodness, it is such a gift,” she said. “To say thank you to the sponsors, it seems so inadequate. This is a whole new dawn for our music program.

“We have so many talented, wonderful students,” she added. “It is music for all, music for everyone. Everyone gets to have a chance to be part of the program. It is such a gift.”

Courtney Moore is in her second year as TMS band director. She said her band members are excited for the opportunity to play a brand new instrument, to be the first to break in new equipment.

“I have a lot of students who need those types of instruments,” she said. “It’s very much needed and we’re going to use them every single day. We’ll use them for everything.

“The kids will have a better opportunity,” she continued. “They’ll feel better and sound better.”

The bands at both Warwood and Triadelphia showed their appreciation for their new equipment by playing multiple songs for those in attendance Monday morning. Feindler said hearing that music is one of the favorite parts of her job.

Every official who addressed the students – both those in their respective bands and those in the audience — emphasized the importance of the arts in education, and how beneficial something like joining the band is in the overall growth of a student.

“The arts are important for the formation of how you make decisions, how you learn,” said Abraham, who also sits on the West Virginia Commission for the Arts. “So I would encourage all of you, if you have tried some sort of arts recently, specifically the band or instruments, to do that. Try it. Give it a shot. Sometimes you’re not quite sure if you should try it, but try it. It’s really important.”