When Jon Herath had to turn away six students last year who wanted to learn music because they could not afford to rent instruments and he didn't have any to spare, the Lakewood School band teacher knew the time had come to try something new.

"It is never easy to turn down a kid," he said. "Getting more kids into our program is my #1 goal - both for music reasons and academic reasons.  I decided right then that I was going to apply for the grant."

The grant he referenced was through the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, which donates both new and refurbished instruments to school music programs that lack the resources to keep up with equipment loss due to attrition, depreciation and wear, and to accommodate students on waiting lists or who have to share instruments.  The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation was inspired by the acclaimed motion picture, "Mr. Holland's Opus," the story of the profound effect a dedicated music teacher had on generations of students. The film's composer, Michael Kamen, started the foundation in 1996 as his commitment to the future of music education.

Mr. Herath and his Lakewood colleague, Orchestra Teacher Jennifer O'Donnell, share that commitment to music education.  Their diligence paid off when learning last week that the school had won an astounding 25 new and refurbished instruments, valued at nearly $27,000. The supply includes everything from flutes to violas to trombones.