A few years ago I found myself the owner of a Wurlitzer upright piano after a family member snagged it for me at an estate sale. As a former pianist, I hoped to use it to teach my kids how to play, but sadly it mostly sat in my basement collecting dust, silently beckoning me to set it free with each glance in its direction.
But there were hurdles. What could I do with it? Pianos are notoriously heavy, which makes them expensive to move and daunting for anyone who may want to pick it up and haul it home.
In the summer of 2023, I reached out to a connection at the Omaha Conservatory of Music to see if their students could use it, and they recommended I contact Judy Divis, the founder of a program called Good Vibrations that accepts and repurposes used instruments.
We arranged a time for her to come inspect the piano, and shortly thereafter we scheduled a time for her movers to come pick it up. It was a win-win—the piano no longer had to sit idle and under-appreciated in my home, and someone who would not otherwise have a piano would now be able to enjoy filling the air with its sound.
As a founding member of the Omaha Chamber Music Society and a viola player in her 38th year with the Omaha Symphony, Judy Divis is exactly the type of personality you would expect to be behind fulfilling this type of need. In speaking with her, you can tell she cares deeply about music and its power to connect us.
She said it all began through the symphony’s community outreach. She started to notice that a lot of students, especially string players in Title I schools, were playing on broken instruments or struggling to keep them maintained.
She recalled one devoted girl practicing on an instrument with a hole in it, and a boy who was playing on half a bridge. They weren’t able to make the sounds on the instruments they were trying to play.
After enlisting the help of her friend Sarah Kluge — a luthier skilled in repairing broken instruments — the groundwork for Good Vibrations was born.
The program began in 2018 with a focus on string instruments and repaired 35 of them in its first quarter. The program was further fueled by an instrument drive hosted by KVNO in 2020, an effort that continues to occur annually each August.
“We thought we’d maybe get 20 instruments. We got 80, and we had instruments of all kinds,” Divis said.
Divis said when students have access to working, polished, instruments that they have ownership of, they know somebody cares.
This sentiment inspired Divis to start Good Vibrations. She explained how even though they didn’t have a lot of money growing up, her father fell in love with the arts and always found a way to make sure she and her brother had decent instruments and access to private lessons.
“Every day that I opened that violin case I knew that he cared, and it was something that I treasured, because I didn’t get to see him a lot.” she said.
Once Good Vibrations gets their hands on an instrument, the transformation is remarkable.
“When we repair an instrument for a student, they open that case and they can’t even believe their eyes,” she said.
The refurbished instrument is not only in working order, but also clean and polished, and some parts — like a bow — may have even been replaced with brand new ones.
Since it began, Good Vibrations has repaired and distributed over 500 instruments, including 12 pianos this past fiscal year alone.
“Once you’re a Good Vibrations kid, you’re always a Good Vibrations kid,” Divis said. “We want to help these kids, especially now. It’s crucial to connect people, and music is a phenomenal art form to connect us.”
She shared that the Omaha Chamber Music Society, Omaha Symphony, Flatiron Luthier Cooperative, and repair specialists with local music shops have been instrumental in the program’s success. Meanwhile, partnerships with Omaha Public Schools (OPS) and the Heartland Integration Center help ensure that instruments end up in the hands of eager students, as well as refugees who are starting a new life here.
Good Vibrations’ process is to get the donated instruments repaired, send photos out to OPS music teachers and other partners who can help identify deserving students and recipients, and distribute them on a first-come, first-served basis.
Divis remembers a trumpet they acquired that a teacher from Central High School “jumped on” for one of her students. Divis delivered the instrument around Christmas time, and got to hear him play.
“He took it out of the case to play, and his playing was so beautiful,” she reflected. “It was listening to a mature jazz trumpet player. It was gorgeous.”
The student had plans to work all summer to be able to purchase the instrument before it was gifted to him by Good Vibrations. Today that student is at UNO studying to be a professional musician.
Good Vibrations’ focus has expanded beyond repairs and instrument donations by also offering private lessons and music camps.
Their two-week Drum Camp gives refugee youth from many different cultures the chance to connect with each other through music and performance. It’s an opportunity to connect socially and foster a sense of community they might not otherwise have.
“The thing about Good Vibrations is I let it go where it needs to go,” Divis explained.
When people come to her with an idea, her goal is to find a way to make it happen, because she has seen the positive effect music has on people and how it transcends many other forms of communication.
“This is an art form that truly connects us as humans, and it’s a living, breathing example of what we can do when we work together,” she emphasized. “No two performances are identical, and you have a shared experience that doesn’t involve speech. It’s something that touches your soul in a much deeper way, and it’s a bond that we share.”
Divis also acknowledges that learning an instrument helps children grow valuable skills that will help them throughout their lifetime, such as discipline and learning how to not only play their part but also collaborate and listen to others simultaneously.
When an unwanted or unused instrument is no longer needed, donating it to Good Vibrations gives it the chance to find new life and sing its song once again.
“You don’t know what happens to them if you just put them in the thrift store,” she explains. “This way you know that they’re going to be professionally repaired and given to a deserving student who is trying to learn to play.”
Donations to support repairs and other expenses can be made at omahachambermusic.org. Those interested in supporting the program in other ways can reach out to Judy at judydivis@gmail.com.
“We take instruments of all kinds and in all conditions, even accordions!” Divis said with a half-joking laugh, because at the end of the day, she can find a home for anything. Even if an instrument can’t be repaired, it will still find a purpose, such as being donated to the Symphony’s petting zoos, which allow children to tinker around with instruments ahead of each family concert.
Band and orchestra instruments are especially coveted, because they allow students to participate in their school band or orchestra who may not otherwise have the opportunity.
While Divis is retiring from the Symphony after this year, she has big dreams for helping Good Vibrations crescendo well into the future.
“This is really a labor of love for me,” explained Divis. “It’s a game changer. I would love to see Good Vibrations go national.”
She said she continues to be grateful and amazed at the power of music.
“I don’t think there’s any greater gift that you can pass on than to learn about humanity and how we are all connected to each other. I hope in some small way, Good Vibrations can continue that legacy,” she said.