We’re celebrating our 10th anniversary this year, and we’re interviewing just a few of the many people who make Mason Community Arts Academy what it is. Our first interview is with Jenna Day, co-owner of Day Violins, passionate arts advocate, and member of our Advisory Board. Our Faculty Coordinator Claire Allen sat down with Jenna to talk about her passion for the arts, her business, and why being involved with the Academy is such an important part of her life.
CAllen: Let’s start at the very beginning! How did you first fall in love with the arts?
JDay: I am one of the lucky ones in the world – my parents exposed me to music and art and taught me to appreciate the beauty and miracles of both at a very young age. I grew up with lots of random breaking-out-in-song in my house with my parents and siblings, singing with my sisters, singing with my family while my dad played the ukulele or someone played the piano, making up skits, craft projects and home improvement projects galore, and attending concerts and productions whenever possible in our small eastern Oregon town. When we moved to Portland, the opportunities were endless and we took advantage of the indoor and outdoor beauty of the Pacific Northwest and all it had to offer. I became heavily involved in choir and drama in high school and worked on set design, and I was the accompanist for the choir several times. I explored different instruments and learned to play them. I also participated through our church in drama productions, the choir, and other activities that made me appreciate the arts even more.
CAllen: You and your husband Jason own Day Violins, which seems to be growing rapidly! How did you decide to start a shop, and how did you do it?
JDay: Jason was working as an orchestra director for Fairfax County Public Schools and also as a private teacher. He was frustrated with the quality of instruments his students were bringing to their lessons. He felt like many of them were over-priced and poor quality and were not meeting the demands of the students abilities. He started finding instruments on his own from several different sources for his own private studio, and soon people were asking him to find them a good instrument.
I remember the day he came into our bedroom and asked if we should start a business, since it was getting to be popular. I had just had our second child and that was the furthest thing from my mind at the time. He mentioned the name, Day Violins, and I said, “Sure!” never knowing where that simple conversation would take us in the future!
We ran the business out of our home for over ten years, while he worked full time for Fairfax County and The Flint Hill School and taught private lessons. Eventually, we could no longer handle the demands in our little house and moved into our current location almost four years ago. My dad, Grandpa Johnnie, came to visit us and help us write a business plan and has lived with us and helped out at Day Violins ever since! He realized, when he got here, how much we needed help and the potential our business had.
When we were first married, we were helped by so many people. We knew we could never repay them and so very early into our marriage we made a promise to each other that we we would always “PAY IT FORWARD” and help anyone and everyone that we could enjoy the benefits of music. We also hold our religion and our family very dear to us and make sure our employees know that we are a family, but their family comes first, no matter what.
For many years, while my husband was working full time at school and teaching full-time, I was running the business by myself. He would finish teaching at 9pm, eat dinner and then fix instruments until midnight and then get up at 5am to go back to work at the school. With four small children, it was a crazy life.
As we have grown and expanded, my husband and I have done and continue to do all aspects of the business, so we can appreciate what our employees do, but also show them we are all in this together. Any given day, you can find the owners cleaning the bathrooms and vacuuming the floor, delivering instruments and then turning around and selling an expensive cello. My current responsibilities are mostly marketing and music education related. I am the person who goes into the schools and helps with instrument nights, meeting with teachers, saving the local strings programs, talking to the homeschool and girl/boy scout troops who come in for a tour. I do a lot of school visits during the day and attend a lot of concerts and instrument petting zoos. I have a passion for music education and promote the benefits of it whenever I can. I am always in the schools and other places giving lectures and educating both children and adults on the benefits of music education. Once a year, I head to Capitol Hill to advocate and negotiate to keep music in the schools. I focus heavily on the local level, making sure our local schools and communities have music programs for all ages, but mostly children. My latest endeavors include an after school foster care arts program and a program where the geriatric community can benefit from music. I serve on several Arts boards, including The Academy, George Mason and DC Strings.
CAllen: How did you first hear about the program formerly known as Potomac Arts Academy?
JDay: We were asked by a group running a strings method class through the summer camps program to provide instruments. I had heard about the Academy and Libby Curtis, the director, but had never had the opportunity to meet her in person. As I was delivering instruments one day, she was talking to a dear friend of mine and I went up to say “hello.” Libby and I both said at the time that we needed to get together and talk. Once we actually sat down and met, I knew I had met a soul mate. She and I worked together really well and became fast friends. I admire her professionalism and vision and everything she and the Academy do for the community. She is amazing, and I want to be like her when I grow up! [laughs]
CAllen: What are some of your favorite things about the Academy?
JDay: I have many favorite things about the Academy. At the top of the list is the staff. I have loved getting to know the staff and working with them on various projects. Everyone is professional, knowledgeable and most importantly, engaged. They have the students and the families best interest at heart. They meet often to discuss how to better serve the community, they go the extra mile with their students and create opportunities for growth and creativity. I have personally benefited many times from the friendly faces of the “red shirt” summer staff, the happy greeting of the office staff, and petting the office dog Roxy! I have sat in rehearsals and watched as my own children have been inspired to do their best.
Another favorite about the Academy is who they serve. They have diverse classes for all ages. They try and reach out to the community interests and meet those interests with classes and programs. They include young and old alike and inspire all along the way. They are involved not just in teaching classes, but also going out into the community to serve, reaching those who may not have the opportunity otherwise to benefit from their programs. Their vision expands beyond just teaching, it includes creating good people through the love of the Arts.
CAllen: Talk to me about Instruments in the Attic. What has inspired you and your husband to be so generous with your time and resources to support this program?
JDay: I remember exactly where I was the day I heard a radio spot about Instruments in the Attic. That was over twelve years ago. I remember thinking to myself, “What a cool program! I would love to get involved in that someday!”
Little did I know that I would be able to fulfill that dream. For the last several years, I have helped prepare and ship boxes to Costa Rica and Haiti. I have delivered an entire orchestra to a teacher in Prince William County whose students were having to drop the class because they could not afford instruments. I have watched a young man at an instrument night be fascinated with the violin, only to have his mother tell me that she’s not sure it will work out due to medical expenses with his younger brother, and to then be able to hand that young man a violin through the IIA program. His mother recently contacted me and he is coming in to get a full size violin and still loves playing. She has expressed gratitude over and over again for this program and the difference it has made in her son’s life, the friends he has made and the confidence he has developed.
I have paid to ship a clarinet to a family whose father recently lost his job and she was not going to be able to play in the school band any longer. I have watched as college students from other countries have been able to finish their graduate degrees in performance because they were able to use one of the nicer donated instruments. Recently, my husband and I and several others were able to travel to Costa Rica to a school where we knew there was a great need. During the course of a day and a half, over 100 instruments were fixed so they could be played by the school children. For my husband, it was a life-changing experience, as he was able to use his skills to fix instruments that had been collecting dust on a shelf for years. True to our “PAY IT FORWARD” promise, we fix all stringed instruments at cost or for free, so that more people can benefit from the power of music. How can you not get excited about a program that changes people’s lives like this one?!?
CAllen: What Academy programs have you participated in as a parent?
JDay: Our family has greatly benefited from the programs the Academy offers. Acting for Young People truly has been one of our greatest blessings. My two youngest daughters love singing and dancing and theater, and AFYP offers it all. We still quote lines and sing songs from past performances. They loved being able to participate in the performances, which has built their confidence and fostered friendships. Because they were in AFYP, they were also asked to participate in two operas through George Mason. My youngest daughter exclaimed one evening after rehearsal, “Operas aren’t as boring as I thought they were now that I get to sing in one!” Truly these experiences have fostered their love of the Arts also.
Because of our business, Day Violins, we are always providing instruments, financial support and education to classes and summer programs. It is always fun to see the excitement on the faces of the children when we teach them about instrument care and bring in the tiny, baby violin for them to see. We love being able to attend and participate in classes and concerts and see the talent that the students at the Academy have.
CAllen: What is one of the most memorable experiences you have had as a result of your connection to the Academy?
JDay: I could never narrow down my experiences to just one memorable experience, but for the sake of time and space, I will only share a few.
The first time we went to Costa Rica, we went to the Castella School. I had brought down some ziploc bags of used supplies. At that time, the only thing I had left was a bag of used strings. I felt a little embarassed, offering the orchestra director the bag of used strings, but I explained to her that I thought she might be able to use them in case one broke. She burst into tears and hugged me tightly for a very long time. I, of course, started to cry, when she explained how much a ziploc bag of used strings meant to her and her students. Later that afternoon, we were in the instrument storage area and witnessed all the broken instruments. Because of the experience I had had earlier, I promised them that I would come back and make sure these instruments got fixed. At the time, I didn’t know how or when it would happen, but a year later, my husband, myself and several others did it. It was the day and a half where we fixed over 100 instruments.
Another memorable experience was when we delivered the instruments to the middle school in Prince William County. My husband graciously loaded up the delivery van full of instruments, and we brought them to the orchestra teacher and the students that day. To see the instruments all lined up in the gym and watch the students and teacher express gratitude and excitement was truly a moment I will not forget. We have kept in contact with the teacher there and he continually expresses gratitude for the generosity of IIA. He has children that would otherwise not be able to participate because of the generosity of IIA.
And then there is our friend, Carlos, from Costa Rica. He was there the day we fixed all the instruments at the Castella School. He told us how much he wanted to learn more about repairs so that he could do repairs after we were gone. We invited him to Day Violins and told him he would be welcome to stay at our house and he could learn. Several months later, he came, spent a week, and now is able to fix instruments at the schools he teaches at. Rather than collecting dust, they are still playable. Oh, there are so many amazing memories, but the ripple effect will go on and on and we are able to “Pay it Forward” through Day Violins and the IIA program, blessing lives over and over and over again.
CAllen: Finally, if you had one wish for how Mason Arts continues to grow in the next ten years, what would it be?
JDay: The Academy is a magical place. Children and adults of all ages come daily, weekly, monthly or sporadically, but all are affected in a positive way through the power of the Arts. You cannot help but smile when the “red shirt” summer staff jump up and down and wave at you as you either pull up to drop your children off or drive away with those same children as they chatter of how great AFYP was that day. You can’t help but smile as you park in the parking lot and glance up at the Star Wars snowflakes plastered to the windows that motivate children to practice in creative ways. How can you resist the urge to smile when you hear children singing at the top of their lungs? Where else do you find teachers in a jam session or putting on their own concert or bringing in a special guest to enhance the learning of their studio. How can you not be impressed with children that give up a week of their summer to attend a musical boot camp?
My hope for the Academy is that they have every opportunity to continue to bless the lives of the community. A big, huge wish is that they are able to expand and grow to meet the changing needs of those they serve. Whether it be through expanded programs where they go out into the community or a bigger, more modern and MUCH NEEDED facility that will enable them to do what they do best and do what they love.
CAllen: Is there anything else you’d like our community to know about you, the Academy, or the importance of the arts?
JDay: I look forward to enjoying the magic of the Academy. I look forward to working with the staff and seeing how their programs are able to grow. But what I look forward to most is watching the lives that they have touched over the years, touch others lives and through the ripple effect, continue to make this community even greater than it already is. Truly it is a blessing to be a part of the Academy. My life has been touched in ways that cannot be described in words. I look forward to many more wonderful and blessed opportunities to learn and grow and serve and “pay if forward” to others. Thank you, Mason Community Arts Academy at George Mason, for making my life better in so many ways.
Thanks to Jenna for all of these kind words.
We hope you can join us for an upcoming class or program soon!