The Child Instrument Recycle Program (CHIRP), in partnership with the West Virginia Young Musicians Fund (WVYMF), has received a $10,000 donation in honor of Constantine (Conny) Thymius of Lewisburg.
CHIRP is a nonprofit organization committed to helping young musicians unable to purchase or rent an instrument of their own. This is made possible by monetary donations through the WVYMF or when people donate old or unused instruments. CHIRP, in partnership with Bandland, evaluates, repairs and sanitizes the donated instruments, restoring them to proper playing condition and placing them in the hands of an eager student.
Conny was musically gifted, it was his passion and he showed his love through music. In his early career, Conny was a music teacher at Miami Senior High School in Miami, Florida. The remainder of his professional life, Conny played nightly at the Greenbrier Hotel for many bands, including the Populairs and the Hal Walls Trio.
When he retired, Conny taught music lessons to many and, until his fight with COPD became too much, Conny could still be found playing his instruments for friends and family. “Music was our father’s true passion. He had a way of making everyone around him happy with his music, it was infectious,” says one of Conny’s daughters, Kathi Ames.
Conny will be truly missed, but with the Constantine Thymius Memorial Fund and a partnership with CHIRP, the Thymius family hopes his love of music will be carried on by those who have a passion like he did, in a place that he called home. “I can’t think of a better way to honor our father. His generosity was endless, and this is exactly what he would have wanted,” says one of Conny’s others daughter, Dina Ogg.
Dr. Michael Hess, President of CHIRP/WVYMF, was overcome with gratitude, “I was overwhelmed by the generosity of the donation — and all the donations we received in honor of Mr. Thymius. From what I understand, he was an excellent musician, father and grandfather, and would do anything he could to help those around him. We hope to carry on his passions of music and generosity through our charity and its mission to keep all kids in band programs across West Virginia!”
For more information on CHIRP or to find out how you can contribute, visit https://chirpwv.com/our-mission/.
