FLORENCE — Fourth-grade students at Timrod Elementary School may soon be able to fiddle away following a grant announcement Tuesday.
First Reliance Bank and the Florence Breakfast Rotary Club are funding free music lessons and free violins for the students at the school, according to a press release issued Tuesday by Florence School District 1.
Laura Greenway, the district’s performing arts coordinator, said in the release Timrod’s music teacher Joy Williams-Hilton will introduce fourth-grade students to the violin for a six-week period. Students who want to continue in fifth- and sixth-grade will be offered additional specialized instruction.
“The students will benefit greatly by receiving effective hands-on experience by learning how to play an instrument,” Williams-Hilton said in the release. “These are instruments that children would not have otherwise. This is why this program and funding is so unique and importan.”
First Reliance Bank Community Development Officer Joan Billheimer was instrumental in spearheading funding for violin projects for two other schools in Florence 1, North Vista and Wallace Gregg elementary schools. She led the efforts to involve First Reliance, Honda of South Carolina Manufacturing Inc., ESAB, the Florence Symphony Guild and others in supporting violin projects at these schools,” according to the release.
The program began at Wallace Gregg in 2007 and at North Vista in 2008. Billheimer said in a previous interview she was interested in starting the project in Florence after watching a “60 Minutes” segment on The Strings of Soweto.
“First Reliance believes that the violin project is a good investment because it involves children who might not have the opportunity to participate in a unique music program, and hopefully, this project will change their lives in a positive way,” Billheimer said in the release. “We encourage this project also because these children are our future. It has been proven that students involved in music programs benefit in many ways, by building self esteem and increasing socialization skills.”
“This is a great Christmas gift for the students at Timrod. The gift to purchase stringed instruments will expose our children to the wonderful world of music and will greatly enhance the music program at our school,” Timrod Elementary principal Thurmond Williams said in the release.
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