Maumee concert to benefit local music nonprofit

In 2008, Jeff Green worked at Huntington Bank.

Sometime that year, he and friends Mike Hunter, a CPA; John Mackewich, an attorney; Mike Grady, who is no longer active; and Green’s wife, Tamara, started their own bank, of sorts.

Fifteen or so years later, at the moment anyway, their bank is depleted after having made loans to 3,000 kids in schools, community centers, and more, which is why Small Box Music in Maumee will host a concert on Sunday from 3:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. to raise assets for the bank.

True, the bank, called BeInstrumental, is built on notes, but the notes are not of paper, stocks, or bonds. The notes are of a musical kind, and the assets are the instruments that will go to whomever and wherever the need and desire is.

The Sunday concert is a way to build up the bank; the vault on the third floor of the Collingwood Arts Center is looking pretty empty. That’s why John Fowler, owner of Small Box Music, is holding an instrument drive that begins at 3 p.m., and at 6 and 7 p.m. local musicians Spencer Bruce and the CJTK will perform. The concert is free to attend, and any donations received will go to BeInstrumental.

Back in 2008, Green, Hunert, Mackewich, and Grady, all transplants from Michigan, met each other at a meeting of EPIC Toledo, and they clicked as they batted around ideas for a business. Because all had a passion for music, BeInstrumental clicked too.

They had an organization with a catchy name. But, Green said, they wondered, “What are we going to do with it?”

“Since we all had a music background,” Green said, “why don’t we try to put something together for the kids as it relates to music and give back to the community? There was a need that The Blade called out, and we said, ‘how do we solve that?’”

The article that stirred them was about monetary problems in a school district — a common theme in many districts. A superintendent was quoted as saying if more money couldn’t be found, then arts programs would be trimmed or eliminated. Some say arts programs are expendable, others must make a painful decision somewhere.

Hunter, who plays the saxophone, believes the arts aren’t expendable. Making music makes a difference not only by making melodies but also because it forms a community, somewhere children can fit in, he said.

BeInstrumental became a 501(c)3 quickly, Green said, thanks to the acumen of Mackewich and Hunter, and the music hasn’t stopped.

In 2010, BeInstrumental won a $50,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project. That’s when BeInstrumental started to jam, Green said. The team works with community partners to make the magic happen for children and the region, and that started on the heels of the grant.

Chris Amato of Kids Unlimited approached BeInstrumental, asking if the organization could provide music lessons to the children.

“We said sure, let’s do it,” Green said. “And between the Friendly Center and then North Point Academy [and] Queen of Apostles school, we’re doing six or seven different programs at the time, and that was the start of the organization.”

Green said he was convinced that the mission of BeInstrumental was a good fit when jazz artist Damen Cook helped generate buzz for the organization by creating a video to tell people how important music was and why a child needs it in his or her life.

Someone in need, someone who wants to play an instrument but whose family just can’t find the money for that and the bills, or a teacher whose classes have been hit by budget cuts fills out a form on BeInstrumental’s website — beinstrumental.org — and the organization makes that happen.

“My goal is to allow every child the opportunity to experience music,” Green said. “They get to learn a skill set that not everyone has.”

One of the things BeInstrumental asks of the instrument borrowers is to write a thank-you note to the donor.

“We’ve had some instruments where the donor of the instrument has received four or five different thank you cards from four or five different kids,” Green said. “So it’s like the gift of music keeps on giving.”

The instruments, which used to be stored in the basement of Green’s home, are now stored at the Collingwood Arts Center. Green is looking for another place, a larger place, and one that has climate control.

It isn’t just loaning out instruments of all sorts — except pianos — that keeps BeInstrumental humming. It provides music teachers, instruction, and programs; organizes recitals for young people and local musicians to perform in the community; and provides performance-based scholarships to students who wish to advance their musical studies in areas beyond local offerings, according to a news release from Small Box Music.

There are group instrumental classes. Ukelele camps. Cardio drumming.

The person who handles the classes and the community outreach is Jaclyn Hotaling-O’Neill, a music therapist and the program director for the nonprofit.

Along with a host of duties, she has ideas on how BeInstrumental can be more instrumental to the community. One of the keys to that is: more people.

“We’re looking for more people to kind of fill in with their talents, with their interests, with their time, with their energy to help support the continued growth of the organization, as well as honor the work that’s already been done by our founding members and our founding board and committees,” Hotaling-O’Neill said.

Because the organization wants to engage the community, finding out what the community wants is key.

“I want to start thinking about how we can get more direct feedback from the community and highlight the community,” Hotaling-O’Neill said, “such as what the organization does that makes an impact on the community.

“So for me, that is making it very transparent and accessible for our community to reach out to us and tell us, we’re interested in this,” she said.

Even though BeInstrumental does a lot, Green and company want to do more. Mackewich said he wants the organization to go deeper into the community.

There’s a little danger in that, though, he said.

“We’re a nonprofit, just like every other nonprofit. So, how do you scale growth? If we take on too many schools at once, it’s hard to find the teachers, find the money, and find the instruments for that,” he said.

In the end, Mackewich said, there’s no doubt about what BeInstrumental’s goal will be.

“Our goal as we grow is to serve more students and more schools,” he said.

Coming up

■ Edgar Holmes Park, 1214 Ironwood Ave., Toledo; 6 p.m. Sunday. Ramona Collins.

■ Rhythm on the River Arts Series, Grand Rapids, Ohio; 4 p.m. Sunday. Bliss at Wright Pavilion on the towpath between the canal and the Maumee River.

■ Commodore Schoolyard Lawn, 140 E. Indiana Ave., Perrysburg; Music at the Market. 7 p.m. June 20: Everyday People 419. 7 p.m. June 27. Johnny B. Roth & the Fun on the Side. Free.

Send news of music to Heather Denniss at hdenniss@theblade.com at least 10 days ahead of your event.