Minnesota State Wire

As freelance musicians in and around the Twin Cities metro, bassist and pianist Ann Marie McIntire and drummer Dave Schmalenberger have collaborated on stage. Their newest collaboration is bringing equipment and resources to Anoka-Ramsey's Music Department.

In early 2022, McIntire approached Schmalenberger at a concert with an interesting question. She was looking for a home for her father's collection of percussion instruments after his death in 2020.

"I'm setting up my drums, and she came up and said, 'Do you happen to know any place where I might store or donate some instruments?'" Schmalenberger says.

Schmalenberger, a member of Anoka-Ramsey's Music Department faculty, put in a good word for Anoka-Ramsey's Music program. McIntire visited campus, toured the department's facilities, and met with faculty.

"I was humbled by the fact that she thought of me and then very humbled that (after seeing Anoka-Ramsey's Music Department) she said, 'Yeah. Anoka-Ramsey would be a great place for this stuff to live,'" Schmalenberger says.

The meticulously maintained collection, including a glockenspiel, snare drum and vibraphone — once owned by Miss America 1948 BeBe Shopp — adds diversity and flexibility to what the department can offer students and visiting musicians. Adding more than 100 pieces of equipment and accessories expands practice and performance access.

Students like Andrew Green are already getting hands-on experience with the equipment.

"I use the donated congas in the practice room all the time," Green says. "It's been beneficial to have these instruments to play. It just makes everything easier."

Ensuring the instruments are used and well cared for is a fitting tribute to John McIntire, Ann Marie's father.

An avid musician alongside his career as a health care administrator, Ann Marie says John's care for his instruments was rivaled only by his conviction that they are used and enjoyed.

"He wore white gloves when he packed up his instruments. He was that kind of guy," Ann Marie McIntire says. "But he was not about anything sitting around, not being used. He was like, 'Give it to someone if you're not going to use it.'"She says the choice to share and donate the collection to a school like Anoka-Ramsey was deliberate.

"It needed to go to someone who's going to know these instruments aren't just part of the inventory," she says. "But there was a story. There was a guy."

Plans to commemorate John and his contribution to the Music Department will include a plaque in the band room sharing his dedication to music and the influence he has brought to Anoka-Ramsey students. In memory of John McIntire and his incredible commitment to music, this legacy will inspire many musicians for years and years to come.

Original source can be found here.