Quick update:

The bit with my friend fell through (he's also in college, and lives in San Diego - doomed from the start, really); however, the university has a very good woodwinds program, and the professor in charge of it is looking into the possibility of getting a nearby instructor for me - paid for, naturally, by the college (so <i>that's</i> why tuition is so expensive…).

Anyhow, I plan, should this work out, to get the J. Dunbar PC kitchen pipes and to keep the bag and drones aside for later use, and just use the PC until the instructor graduates me to them.