Contact: Cindy Connelly, VP Marketing
Encore Etc. Inc.
978-533-3000
CConnelly@EncoreEtcInc.com

For Immediate Release

MaestroMD and North American Booster Club Association
Introduce Wind Instrument Sterilization Service to Booster Clubs Throughout United States

New Standard of Care for Brass and Woodwind Instruments Now Available

ANDOVER, MA., March 1, 2008 – With students across the country settled into the school terms, parents are more focused than ever on keeping them healthy – updating immunizations, packing hand sanitizers in back backs and school lunch boxes, and encouraging kids not to share things like water bottles. This past year, there have been reported outbreaks of lethal bacterial meningitis and “super-bugs” that are immune to even the strongest antibiotics. But are there other, “hidden” germs that parents haven’t really thought about?

While marching band and school music programs are well underway, millions of trombones, trumpets, saxophones and clarinets are in circulation to students; rented and loaned from school band rooms or through local music dealers. These previously used instruments have the potential to pass germs between students, especially when the health history of the former player is completely unknown. In fact, laboratory studies have confirmed that the bacteria responsible for staphylococcal and streptococcal infections, two of the leading causes of student absenteeism, can survive and thrive inside the moist dark environments of musical wind instruments for up to five months and longer.

Addressing this health concern has been Encore Etc. Inc, a Massachusetts-based company that has developed MaestroMD, a proprietary sterilization system that safely and effectively eliminates 100% of the bacteria that can thrive in these delicate wind instruments. According to company founder, Dr. Lorenzo Lepore, “over the years, we’ve been surprised at the number of parents we’ve talked to who never really associated used instruments with the potential for cross contamination. The minute they make the connection, they quickly see the tremendous value and peace of mind associated with having their kids playing sterilized instruments.” Today hundreds of thousands of instruments are being purchased over the Internet and arriving in the United States from all over the world, making instrument sterilization a timely new standard of care.

MaestroMD is a process in which instruments are shipped to regulated sterilization facilities where they are sterilized without ever leaving their cases. Safe and effective for all brass and wood wind instruments, MaestroMD utilizes the same technology that has been used for decades to sterilize medical and dental devices. MaestroMD was formally introduced in a Massachusetts city school system in 2006 and is available nationally through authorized school music dealers. The cost for sterilizing individual instruments starts at $49.99 and depends on the size of the particular brass and woodwind instrument.

In an effort to help bring awareness of the issue, and educate parents on the benefits of sterilization, MaestroMD has teamed up with the North American Booster Club Association (NABCA).

For more information about the benefits of sterilization and the history and background of MaestroMD, visit www.MaestroMD.com.

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About Encore Etc., Inc.
Encore Etc., Inc. was established in 2001 by Dr. Lorenzo Lepore, a practicing Massachusetts dentist and accomplished musician. In the mid-1990s, Dr. Lepore was approached by a Fine Arts Director who had loaned out an instrument to a sick child, learning that wind instruments loaned through school music programs were not routinely sterilized. Understanding the potential health risks to student musicians, he committed the next eight years to researching a solution. Today, MaestroMD is the first and only system for safely and effectively eliminating 100% of bacteria from wind instruments.

About NABCA: The North American Booster Club Association (NABCA) (www.boosterclubs.org) is the governing body and first of its kind national booster club association dedicated to providing booster clubs and their extracurricular organizations throughout North America with the highest level of Guidance, Education, Training and Support. NABCA supplies booster clubs with the most comprehensive portfolio of resources and club building tools available to help build and manage successful clubs. Booster Clubs are a key component to a successful extracurricular program as they provide funding, volunteer support, upkeep for facilities, fields and equipment, transportation and scholarships.