In January 2006, the Cornell University Wind Ensemble (CU Winds) embarked on a 10-day concert tour and outreach mission in Costa Rica, bringing along more than 50 donated instruments for a small music school there.

This winter, CU Winds returns to the Central American country for another tour, to revisit the school in Matapalo for a workshop and concert with students, and to deliver 70 more refurbished instruments to two other schools. The 49-member ensemble will leave Ithaca Jan. 9 for San Jose after five days of on-campus rehearsals for the 10-day tour.

"The 2006 tour was transformative for all parties involved. One of the things that we learned is that we got just as much, if not more, out of the giving than the students and communities to whom we gave," said Cynthia Johnston Turner, director of wind ensembles in the Department of Music. "CU Winds believes in service and trying to make the world a bit better. We also believe that giving the opportunity to make music to a young person can change their life for the better. This year, we've doubled our efforts."

The schools receiving instruments are a music conservatory in San Isidro, near the capital city of San Jose, and "a high school in Poas that has an excellent music program but instruments in serious disrepair," Johnston Turner said.

At the San Isidro conservatory, "some of the instruments were donated to the school 50 years ago, and they are still using them," she said.

The tour will take the group cross-country by bus to Santa Cruz and Matapalo, after further performances in and around San Jose and home stays with host families. The ensemble also will perform for an audience of thousands at the annual Santa Cruz Cultural Festival, as it did in 2006, and will be featured in a parade with the Matapalo band.

The diverse group of Cornell student musicians also will have opportunities to enjoy a rainforest hike, bird watching and a midnight visit to an endangered sea turtle nesting site at Playa Grande on the west coast.

The itinerary also includes a Cornell alumni reception and dinner, and a visit to a coffee farm operated by Rosamond Grew -- member of a large Cornell family that includes her husband, Nathaniel Grew '60, D.V.M. '63, and five children who are Cornell students or recent alumni.

"Rosamond has been extremely helpful connecting us with Costa Rican families [and] hotel owners," Johnston Turner said. "She is the one who found the school in San Isidro."