I’m president of a high school band boosters association (also in Georgia). I would specify the use because I wouldn’t want memorial funds to be dumped into the general coffer and spent on copy paper, Lysol, and a new 50-pack of trash bags. High school bands operate on shoestring budgets.
If it is enough money to make it worthwhile, I would consider a scholarship dedicated to tuba players who continue studying music in college. (I wouldn’t require that the student play tuba in college, because they often change from one instrument to another according to the band’s needs and their desires.)
Just a couple suggestions from a band parent who’s about to go into yet another meeting to adjust the band budget because of Covid.
What is the cost of a typical band tuba? I’m leaning towards thinking it would be good to get a few moderately-priced tubas instead of one expensive one. This being a HS, I’m not sure how long a nice tuba would stay nice. And if they have a bunch of available tubas, it might mean they could have an impressive tuba section so they really stand out.
It would be fun if we could get a bunch of local tuba players to play a concert at the HS when the tubas are donated. Do it at the start of next school year to get a lot of kids interested in choosing the tuba as their instrument.
Thanks for the updates, Ed_Zotti!
Ed, assuming we get a tuba for TubaDiva’s high school band (I’m going to leave the overflow cash for now, though I hope it goes to a scholarship for music students), will somebody video the presentation? Will we Dopers be able to see the presentation?
I see the Memorial Fund has done well. Now it is all in the hands of SDMB management. I have complete faith in the Powers That Be and will not question their judgement in any way.
That being said, I may have a modest suggestion. After we buy an engraved tuba, we may have an awkward amount left over. Too little to buy another tuba, too much to ignore.
I see that tuba restoration is an expensive procedure. They seem to charge by the hour depending on what needs to be done.
Maybe we could, maybe we should, ask the family for Tuba Diva’s own instrument. We could then give the repair people some sum of money to repair, refurbish and pretty it up. We could then return it to the family, or with their permission donate it too.
Or not. As I said, I am sure those in charge will make wise decisions and do a great job.
I’m just catching up on this thread. A couple points from a tuba playing band teacher:
Engraving does not affect a brass instrument in any way. They’re already engraved by the manufacturer. In fact engraving it with a memorial may cause the students to be a bit more careful with it. (Tuba players are generally not the wild ones in band anyway. We leave that to the drum line. 
)
Several cheap tubas instead of one good one is a waste of money. The cheap ones will die before one good one and will be horrible and discouraging to play as well.
@Dingbang’s post is a good one.
I had offered Ed Zotti my services to select a horn, but he told me that he’s probably going to leave it up to the band director to get what he needs, so most of this discussion is moot anyway.
I would also like to see a video or pictures of the instrument and the band when it’s presented. Hopefully there’s some sort of ceremony.
So what is the cost of an appropriate tuba? I assumed about $3,000 because that was the campaign goal.
$3000 will get you a decent well made Chinese tuba. Better horns are about $6000, pro horns run in the $10,000 and up range.
Thank you; what amount, in your opinion, is appropriate for an instrument to be used by a high school student?
Yeah - I asked my son about engraving. He looked at me like I was the dumbest person in the world (like that’s new), and showed me the engraving on his trombone.
Thank you. So looking around that website, they have “marching tubas”. What’s the difference?
They’re an alternative to a sousaphone. (Same instrument, wrapped differently) They look like a standard tuba, but you hold it on your shoulder like a bazooka. They’re usually not very good.
With all Dew respect ( ahem ), if she was a friend here then she was a friend.
Period.
No need to diminish or modify based on where someone knew her from.
My two cents.
That’s fine as well. My point was not to claim the gift was only from the SDMB.
I didn’t see an announcement here, but I did see this on the GoFundMe page:
I’d love if the future updates could go here, too, FWIW.
Thanks for the update!
Thanks for posting that. I was going to when I got the email, then got distracted by something shiny somewhere (probably).
Thanks again, @Ed_Zotti, for setting this up. I was glad to contribute.
The SDMB has been part of my life for nearly 20 years, and I am grateful to everyone who has helped maintain the board and this community. That includes yourself, Jenny, and the rest of the staff.
I didn’t want to start a new thread, but I wanted to say…
This new board works so well, it’s so fast, it has so many cool features, there are no delays, and it just rocks. And every day when I click in, I think of TubaDiva and send thanks up to wherever she is currently hanging out, drinking beer, and playing her tuba with long-lost friends and family. It was above-and-beyond for her to work so hard to make the transition to the new board when she was ill. And we’re enjoying the results of that hard work (in my case, and others, too) pretty much all day/every day.
Thanks, Jenny! Be at peace. We love you.
