Many of the instruments are handed down from local high schools and refurbished. Parents donated the music stands. Teachers lend use of their classrooms for practices, and the instructor is a volunteer.

Last school year Teri Cosentino, who has two children at the school and no prior music experience, decided to volunteer her time to start a band because the school lacks a traditional music program. There was nothing to prepare the students for high school band participation. Her 13-year-old daughter, Tori Cosentino, says, "My mother wants the school to go even further than it has and improve its programming."

The arts and music funding diminished or disappeared from public schools' standard curriculum after Proposition 13, says Bill Erlendson, the San Jose Unified School District's director of external programs and community development.

Aside from the band, River Glen's only other music instruction is a half-hour lesson once a week where students learn to sing and play the recorder. The band meets every Tuesday for two hours, and members are expected to practice a half-hour on their own every day.

On school holidays, the band meets at Cosentino's house for "band camp," where students learn about music by doing arts and crafts. Recently band members put together a wooden flute from a kit, stained it and added accessories like leather tassels and feathers. At the band camp they also learn about reading music, musical notation and composers.

Photograph by Erin Day All Together Now: The River Glen Elementary and Middle School band practices for their first concert on June 4. The band practices for two hours every Tuesday, and students are expected to practice a half-hour on their own each day.

"I'll come home one day seeing her play the clarinet and a saxophone the next," says Tori, who admires her mother's dedication.

She has also taught herself how to repair antique instruments, like a 1905 clarinet that was donated to the band. She is going to spend the summer reading books and looking over the shoulder of someone at a local music store to see how they repair instruments.

But her newness to the music world doesn't show as she works with her students. Fifth-grader Dylan Keese learned to play the clarinet this year in the band and says Cosentino is a better teacher than her piano instructor because she is "fun, cool, nice, hardworking and teaches faster."

Even though Keese is a beginner, she has caught on so fast she plays at the advanced level now.

And the band is diverse, consisting of students in kindergarten through eighth grade playing at a wide variety of levels. There are 16 students in the band, which is divided into the "baby band," kindergarten through second grade; beginning band, first through fourth grade; and advanced band, for students in their second year of band. All the bands play together at once, but some students just learn more advanced music through private lessons with the instructor.

The baby band, which consists of students like Sofia Abad's 5-year-old daughter, Monica, only plays rhythm instruments and percussion. Monica plays the triangle so she learns how to get the beat before learning to read notes off sheet music.

Sofia also has two older daughters in the band. Sixth-grader Lisette Abad was the recipient of a brand-new saxophone that came to the band via the school district's $1,000 music grant.

Before surprising the sixth-grader with the new instrument, Cosentino told Lisette to stop putting together her old one because "the school district says you can't play that instrument anymore."

Lisette looked saddened until Cosentino showed her the brand-new, shiny instrument she had kept hidden inside the case before practice began. When the mystery was revealed, the room filled with "ooh and ahs" from fellow band members.

Cosentino told Lisette she couldn't bring the new instrument home for the summer but asked Lisette to play a solo of "Boogie Blues" for the class to test out the new instrument. It was also Lisette's birthday, so the band serenaded her on their instruments, playing a traditional "Happy Birthday" melody.

Throughout band practice Cosentino's love for teaching is evident. She constantly jokes, gives compliments and makes suggestions for improvement. Because her musical tastes are eclectic, the students play everything from hip-hop to classical tunes.

Photograph by Erin Day Tooting Her Horn: River Glen Elementary School fourth-grader Noemi Zuniga, 9, is a first-year member of the school's band and is learning how to properly play the trumpet. The band uses instruments handed down from local high schools or rented from music stores.

When Lisette's father was battling cancer and the family was struggling financially, Cosentino helped raise money to get Lisette's saxophone fixed, Sofia says.

Phong Tran, father of seventh-grade band member Phuong Tran, says Cosentino is "very dedicated and hasn't asked parents for too much financial help."

He says his son is the only Asian student at the Spanish immersion school and plays in the band because he "wastes time at home by playing on the computer."

Phuong played clarinet last year but likes the saxophone better. An advanced player, he used to rent the instrument from a store but recently bought his own.

For Phong, sending his son to the Spanish immersion school was important because Phong knows six languages and wants his son to be fluent in four—English, Spanish, French and Vietnamese.

Sixth-grader Marguerite Wilhem-Safian, a clarinet player, agrees that playing an instrument is a good use of time and has its academic benefits.

"It improves your studies; you get more responsible and are able to do homework faster," she says.

This is one of the reasons Cosentino has continued to devote her time toward the development of the program.

But the band has struggled to survive on a bare-bones budget for the past two years. Last year Cosentino worked on a budget of only $500, which was donated from a parent group. The money, which was used to purchase supplies, lasted only one week. This year she got the same amount, plus an additional $1,000 grant from the school district, which went toward the purchase of Lisette's saxophone and other supplies. Last year she dipped into her own pocket and spent $350 on supplies to help teach the class, in addition to the $500 she was given. Since any student can join the band, she provides financial assistance for those in need, which includes renting an instrument from a local music store.

And many students need the financial assistance; 45 percent of students at the school qualify for a free or reduced lunch.

Although there are various grants available for start-up school bands, Cosentino says being a mother and devoting two hours per week leading the band and many other hours practicing instruments, preparing for band practice and organizing a concert keep her from finding time to apply. So she would welcome any help pertaining to the grant application process.

Erlendson says if the special June 3 parcel tax passes, the school may receive support for an arts curriculum. But Cosentino says her band is an after-school, extracurricular program and that parcel tax money doesn't apply to her. Monies would apply to an art and music curriculum as part of the school's general program, she says.

"It is a challenge districtwide to be able to support programs like band," Erlendson says. "They're of high priority, but we just can't get bands into elementary schools like we used to, and the state economy is not improving, which doesn't help."

During a recent band practice, the students couldn't practice in their normal room, which happens often because Cosentino is borrowing a classroom from a teacher and if they need to prepare a lesson plan it is "impossible because my band is noisy," she says.

The students went into the classroom with hands clasped together and "begged" the teachers for the use of the classroom, Cosentino says.

They were turned down a few times because it was parent open house night and teachers had to prepare the room.

First-grade teacher Susan Butler-Graham lent her classroom for band practice even though she had to prepare her classroom because, she says, "music is really important and an area not focused enough on in school."

Another reason is that she feels Cosentino's financial pain because due to statewide budget cuts she might have 30 students next year instead of 20 and may not have a teacher aide.

For Cosentino and her band, the financial struggle and finding practice space are ongoing issues, but she works around the problems. She has been unable to retain her own classroom because there is no room on the campus. River Glen was moved to a new site several years ago when Galarza School took over their old site on Bird Avenue.

And she would like to buy a shed to store the instruments on campus to eliminate having to transport a box of rhythm instruments to school from her house for practice, which is especially difficult because she has a physical disability.

She also isn't able to transport her son's drum kit for use by a band member because it weighs approximately 150 pounds. So the resolution was to use a smaller drum.

The cost of the shed would be at least $1,400, she says.

But Cosentino isn't giving up. She is constantly telling people she meets about her band, which often leads to some financial support.

On a recent flight back to San Jose from Burbank, she met Joan Geisen, who works in Willow Glen. Geisen was so impressed by Cosentino's "indomitable spirit," she wants to establish a trust fund and will start it with $100, she says.

Despite her extensive time and energy put into the band, Cosentino insists it's nothing special.

"I'm not a martyr," she says. "I don't mind doing it because I love music and I love seeing the looks on the kids' faces while they're playing. I'm so proud of them. They're doing really well."

The band will perform their first public concert on June 4 at 7 p.m. at River Glen Elementary and Middle School, 1088 Broadway Ave. It is free of charge, but donations are accepted. For more information, call 408.535.6240.