Trampled By Turtles benefit reaps rewards for Duluth music programs

• Instruments

Taelem Berry, 4, of Two Harbors plays xylophone with his father, Erik Berry, who plays mandolin with Trampled by Turtles, at the Duluth Public Schools administration building Wednesday night. Members of the band were presenting instruments to the school district that were bought with money from a benefit concert in Duluth earlier this year that featured Trampled by Turtles and Charlie Parr. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

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A sold-out benefit concert featuring two of Duluth’s favorite acts brought in a load of new instruments that will be divvied up among the music programs in Duluth public schools.

The Trampled By Turtles and Charlie Parr concert at Clyde Iron Works in October raised $26,236 that the Owatonna-based nonprofit organization Vega Productions turned into flutes, coronets, clarinets, xylophones, ukuleles and more that will be distributed to local elementary, middle and high schools.

Erik Berry, mandolin player for Trampled By Turtles, credited school music programs with helping him to become a professional musician.

“Music is so important to us as individuals,” he said. “I think everyone in Trampled By Turtles was in band in high school. You can’t do it on your own or playing broken-down instruments.”

The instruments were presented to the school district Wednesday afternoon at Old Central High School while members of the Duluth East Jazz Band played Bossa nova.

Berry immediately saw the effects of shiny new instruments on a child. His

4-year-old son made straight for a xylophone, slated for elementary schools, and plunked out some tunes.

“He homed in on that right away,” Berry said. “And that’s one of the instruments he’ll be playing next year.”

Austin Manley, a senior from Denfeld High School, snagged a mellophone — a brass instrument like a French horn but more suited for marching band.

“It’s kind of cool to see a new instrument,” he said.

Dave Carroll, banjo player for Trampled By Turtles, said looking at the table of instruments: “I see a lot of future musicians. It’s a wonderful thing for a community to come together and do.”

Vega Productions is also behind the Minnesota Beatle Project, in which state-based musicians record a song by the Beatles for a CD compilation, with proceeds going to public school music programs. Executive director Mark Gehring said he hopes to make the concert fundraiser an annual event.

Tags: arts and education, life, entertainment, education, duluth, music, money