Fictional Film Helps Students Score New Instruments

North Hollywood High School students are tooting their own horns, literally, thanks to a donation of new instruments from Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.

The Studio City-based nonprofit, named after the 1995 film fictional account of an inspirational music teacher, picked the local school out of a 1,000-applicant pool to receive the gift.

Music teacher Robin Sharp filed the application, which required all entries to be a Tier-1 school and 50 percent of the student population eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program.

"We have so many talented and eager students in our program, but without working instruments it is impossible for us to achieve success,” Sharp said in a press release. “We can now ensure that each student will have a properly working instrument to use in our program.”

In January, students got a delivery of new clarinets, flutes, trombones, piccolos, and a baritone, plus repair funds for broken down instruments. The donation was valued at about $8,000, according to the press statement.

“The old trombone slides used to get stuck but now it feels like it’s gliding on air,” said 10th grader Sean Garcia.

Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation was founded by the film's composer, Michael Kamen, and receives most of its contributions from private corporations.