• Submitted by: manso
• Arts and Culture
• 07 / 09 / 2011

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Published: 2011-07-07. Wynton Marsalis New York, NY—In a major announcement last week, Les Silver, President and CEO of RS Berkeley Musical Instruments, pledged that the company will donate all the brand-new, acoustic instruments needed to completely outfit a student orchestra at the Amadeo Roldán Academy of Music in Havana, Cuba's premier academy of music.

The New Jersey company will contribute 28 brass, woodwind, stringed and percussion instruments—saxes, trumpets, trombones, violins and basses, even a tuba—to the New York organization, Horns to Havana, which intends to transport them to Cuba early this September. In addition, Les Silver has agreed to let Horns to Havana purchase a second orchestra for Conservatorio Guillermo Tomás at Guanabacoa at cost as well as provide parts and supplies like pads, reeds, mutes, valve-oil, and instrument stands. “We are filled with gratitude for the generosity of this musical company," said Executive Committee member, Susan Sillins, “It's a great and soulful gift to the talented music students of Cuba."

Horns to Havana is an all volunteer organization that was formed after Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra took Jazz to Havana last fall. An effort to bring musical instruments to four music schools in Cuba, Horns to Havana is an attempt to bridge cultural differences by acknowledging the mutual roots of both American jazz and Afro-Cuban music and to strengthen our historic ties.

“There are so many kids in Cuba that can really play," says Horns to Havana Educational Director and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra member Victor Goines, “They have a hunger, not just for their own music but for other music as well. Jazz brings us together. By helping fulfill the dreams of these kids, we engage in a musical dialogue that benefits all of us."

When RS Berkeley was asked to participate in the Horns to Havana program, they immediately agreed. The New Jersey company has manufactured a complete and innovative selection of unusually high quality, brass, woodwind and stringed instruments since 2002. More and more musicians now trust RS Berkeley to provide instruments that maximize their playing ability and improve the clarity, intonation and sound of their instruments, which are crafted of the finest materials while remaining affordable. RS Berkeley is Horns to Havana's major partner in its effort to fill Cuban Music Conservatories with beautiful instruments.

Source: www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=83921