Joseph Amsberry, a junior from Waverly, and Dr. Craig Hancock repair musical instruments.

Dr. Craig Hancock, director of the Wartburg College bands, doesn’t have 76 trombones on his Christmas wish list — just a dozen, plus other assorted pieces.

Hancock, who wants to replenish the college’s inventory of instruments, is seeking donations of used instruments, no matter the condition. His quest will benefit music education and music therapy students — currently numbering 99 — required to take instrument methods courses.  

“Twelve flutes, six oboes, six bassoons, 12 clarinets, 12 alto saxes, 12 trumpets 12 French horns, 12 trombones — that’s what’s needed to do the job,” said Hancock, a professor of music.

“We have some appropriate instruments in our band inventory,” Hancock said, “but we can only scratch the surface of what we need. Many of the instruments already date back to the 1950s and ’60s.”

A box for donated instruments will be in the Bachman Fine Arts Center lobby through Feb. 28, as well as in the Neumann Auditorium lobby during Christmas with Wartburg, Dec. 7-8. Donors also can contact Hancock (craig.hancock@wartburg.edu) or music department office coordinator Marcia Haugen (marcia.haugen@wartburg.edu or 319 352-8300).

Hancock isn’t fussy about the condition of the instruments, because the college has a one-a-kind repair shop.

Dating back to his days as a public school music teacher and professor at Wayne State (Neb.) University, Hancock has developed a niche in instrument repair — a skill he has been passing along to students.

“I’ve been repairing instruments for 35 years now and teaching it to college students for 30 years, but never had any ‘real’ training,” said Hancock, who spent time with teachers at repair schools and professional repairmen.

“They tell me that what I demonstrate and teach is all well and good,” he said.

Hancock teaches an Instrument Repair course during the four-week May Term, but the repair-room shelves are now lined with only random pieces.

“These ‘bones’ still are quite valuable to each successive generation of instrument repair students,” Hancock said. “You can’t practice the technique, if you don’t have a cadaver to work on.”

In order to restock those shelves and give used instruments a new purpose, Hancock is urging would-be donors to “look in your closets, in the attic and in the garage. Pull out all those instruments just gathering dust, whether they’re in great shape or horrible shape. 

“Whether you’re a person with a single instrument or a band director with a whole shelf of stuff, we’ll take them all,” he added. “Everything that can be put into service will be. Everything else will become great repair-room holdings for the next generation of students.”