Once the fires were controlled and damages were assessed, Los Alamos music teacher Juanita Madland contacted Don Johnson , owner of Music World, with locations in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, to see if assistance could be offered to local music teachers and students. Mike Bates was really on top of things and deserves a lot of credit. It was all pretty complicated, and took a lot of his time and effort. But getting these pianos has been a godsend. It's been a dismal summer for the kids, and getting an instrument has been wonderful.
Kids bounce back more quickly, especially if they have something to do.
Playing music is not just a diversion, it's an enhancement. To be able to keep doing things that we would have been doing before the fire has been the greatest therapy of all. Charmaine Strawman Weber and Thomas K. Weber Taking her own advice to heart, Charmaine and her husband, who performs with many orchestras, have used their Disklavier to practice for performances with church and school choirs, weddings, and other community events.