The LSU College of Music & Dramatic Arts’ Department of Bands is providing long-term assistance in the form of musical instruments to regional public and private high and middle school band programs impacted by August’s flooding. 
The “Band Together” program stemmed from a notion of providing relief in a more permanent way, says Director of Bands Damon Talley. The goal is to purchase new instruments and equipment for affected schools through fundraising and in-kind donations.
Funds will be presented to selected schools’ band directors at the Oct. 25 Tigerama, a performance and fundraiser event at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. 
Talley said the department has been reaching out to colleagues to see how the storm affected their programs. While some schools received minimal damage, he said, the department found out others had lost most or all of their equipment. 
“A lot of people were able to loan instruments out and help in the short term,” he said. “What we wanted to do was raise some money to help in the long term and to try to get some corporate sponsorship from instrument makers.”
Currently, the list of affected schools and projected donations is a work in progress.
For local band directors, it’s “a two-step thing,” Talley noted. “There are the instruments they need to borrow immediately to get back on their feet, but they’re going to have to return those instruments. They’re going to need (instruments) to carry forward in the long haul.” 
And that, said Talley, is where LSU bands is concentrating its efforts, partnering with companies and organizations in making “Band Together” possible.
Money raised will be deposited with the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge because the council is a registered non-profit while the Department of Bands is not. Upon the cessation of donations, the funds will be distributed by the Department of Bands.
The Council’s Director of Development and Grant Management Jessica Ottaviano said the LSU bands and her organization are aligned with the Arts Council’s own flood relief effort, “Creative Relief.” 
The Department of Bands is also working with The Foundation for Music Education which is raising money nationally that also will be presented at Tigerama, Talley said. The Music Club of Baton Rouge is partnered in the project. Talley said, private musical instrument companies, such as Pearl Corp. and Wenger Corp, are offering to sell equipment at cost.
Tiger Band member Chris Stephens said students have been doing their best to promote the fundraiser through social media and word of mouth. “It kind of hit everybody hard because we all know someone who was affected by it in some way. “Whatever we can do to help the younger kids stay with music, honestly, the better we feel (it) will help them just grow in life.”  
The department plans to use donated money to purchase equipment the local band programs can’t buy through insurance. Talley has asked schools in need to prioritize what is needed.
“What we want to do is wherever insurance stops for them, wherever they’re just not going to be able to get back what they had, that’s what we want to chip in and help,” he said.
Talley said the department also plans to make a “sizeable” donation of its own.
Public donations are now being accepted on the “Band Together” page on the Department of Bands’ website,bands.lsu.edu.