Half-way into a 10-day Musical Instrument Drive, WQXR has surpassed its goal of collecting 1,000 gently used instruments to give to New York City Public School students.
The station has collected more than 1,000 instruments as of midday on Wednesday. But listeners are encouraged to continue to support the effort; instruments can be brought to drop-off locations throughout the New York City area through April 7.
Beyond the hard numbers, the drive has drawn numerous personal stories. The New Jersey Star-Ledger and the Daily Record both reported on a Milburn resident who gave more than 80 instruments that belonged to her late husband, a band director. A Forbes reporter chronicled how she donated a violin that belonged to her late grandfather, coming to terms both with the family heirloom and her relative's legacy. And New York Times classical music critic Zachary Woolfe wrote about how he gave his cello, parting with a part of his musical past in the process.
Several local television stations covered the kick-off events last weekend including Fox 5, NY1 and Telemundo; Pix 11 reporter Magee Hickey even brought a flute and talked her way into a lesson with James Galway.
WQXR's assistant program director Mike Shobe asked a number of instrument donors about the importance of musical instruments in their lives. At last week's kick-off, Kathy Dean explained why she donated a clarinet:
Listener Hedy Sloan Stempler talks about why she donated her late mother's violin:
If you donated an instrument, please tell us why and share any stories in the comments box below. Or you can Tweet us using hashtag #GiveMusicNYC.