The devastation in post-Katrina New Orleans tore families apart, closed local schools and universities and destroyed entire neighborhoods. Many groups formed to offer assistance in rebuilding homes and sending supplies to help bring the historical city back to what it once was.
When Hurricane Katrina hit the cities, many band programs lost their instruments and facilities, forcing programs to turn students away or take turns playing during concerts.
One important factor seemed to be forgotten when funds were sent to the city: the musical influence on the New Orleans culture. Horns for Hurricane Victims (HHV), a new CIO at the University, was created to focus on this issue.
Associate Director of Bands Andrew Koch said the musical tradition in New Orleans began when untrained musicians started to play instruments left over from the Civil War. Even without reading music, these self-taught musicians started with ragtime and progressed into jazz. Music evolved into an institution in schools, providing students with opportunities to explore their artistic heritage.
After staying in New Orleans for the January term and experiencing the situation firsthand, second-year Engineering student Justin Starr said, "The conditions were atrocious ... instruments were held together with duct tape."
Starr founded HHV to send aid in the form of instruments and monetary donations to the schools in New Orleans that are struggling to revive their band programs.
"Just from watching TV and things on the news, you really get the impression that everything is OK and that the city's back on its feet," Starr said. "There's a danger that society can really forget about those people."
First-year College student Natalie Wilson said her life-long involvement with band attracted her to this organization.
The band experience "is something I'll take with me my entire life," Wilson said. "If the same thing happened here, it would upheave everything."
Horns for Hurricane Victims is holding an instrument drive for the rest of the semester so people can donate their old instruments to the programs in New Orleans. Starr said some instruments, like tubas and French horns, are unlikely to be donated because of their rarity, so HHV will also accept financial donations to allow the schools to buy new instruments.
Koch commended Starr on taking the initiative in starting HHV.
"Giving people instruments is a way to get normalcy back in the people's lives," Koch said. "The people that are joining that club should be thanked -- they're doing a great service."
Starr said the new CIO is just getting started. He said he hopes the University community will respond to the drive in support of the musical culture in New Orleans.
"There's so much that can still be done," Starr said.
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