AUBURN — A donated refurbished drum set, which helps a local music teacher provide lessons without the hassle of hauling gear between schools, was broken in Thursday at East Auburn Community School.

Matt Konrad, who splits his time teaching music at Park Avenue Elementary and East Auburn Community schools, previously had to haul a full drum set between the two schools for his lessons.

Steve Grenier, owner of Main Street Music Lessons, was aware of the complications surrounding drum lessons and was on a mission to help.

He received a phone call from local music legend Denny Breau, who had discovered a drum set in a dark Bethel bar that could use a new home.

Steve Grenier, owner of Main Street Music Lessons in Auburn, talks Thursday to students at East Auburn School. Grenier spearheaded the effort to bring a drum set to the elementary school through the music store’s scholarship fund and donations from the community. “It was a big community effort to put this together,” Grenier said. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Grenier said the set looked great in the dark, but once he got it outside, he realized it needed a little love.

“The drum set was a mess,” he said.

Grenier dipped into his music shop’s scholarship fund and put out a request for help on social media. Local musicians were happy to help, he said.

“It’s a Ludwig set, which are really nice drums,” he said. But the metal was covered in rust, the heads needed to be replaced and there were no cymbals.

Grenier said the community-funded scholarship was established during COVID-19 to keep children playing music through the pandemic. “This is exactly what those funds are intended to do,” he said. “To keep kids playing music.”

Edward Little High School junior Beck Walker is one of those students.

He started playing drums in the fifth grade at East Auburn Community School and has been playing them for two hours a day since.

Walker returned Thursday to East Auburn to do what he is most passionate about — play the drums.

Walker’s first grade teacher June Simard, who is in her 40th year teaching, introduced him to the students before he sat behind the blue drum set that took Grenier two months to rebuild.

With Konrad on the guitar, Walker laid into tunes by Led Zeppelin and Cheap Trick as students danced about.

The set will not be stuffed into the back of Konrad’s car this time.

“This was a big community effort to put this all together,” Grenier said.