Passing notes to the next generation

By Tamia Williams

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Founding Charm City Music School was inevitable for Jacob Marinari ’13.

His musical interests began early while being homeschooled. “I loved the music that my parents listened to and started getting into it more seriously when I was older, about 11,” Marinari recalls. “I watched the documentary Ken Burns did on jazz and really responded to that.” Marinari’s musical journey continued with jazz saxophone lessons at the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz before he majored in music at Goucher College. He then expanded into other instruments, especially the drums.

Marinari’s Goucher experience was pivotal, as he connected deeply with faculty in small-sized classes. “I had wonderful teachers in the music department. I had real mentors. They really impacted me and the direction I’ve gone in ever since, as a musician and a person,” he says. These connections led him to form bands with students and faculty, including Otherworld. Blending jazz and classical music, the band features Marinari on drums, former Jazz Studies Director Jeffrey Chappel on piano, Jake Kohlhas ’11 on guitar, and Chris Taylor ’13 on bass. The group has released three award-winning albums and remains active.

Marinari also toured North America with local musician Bosley, performing at Artscape and Hot August Blues while sharing stages with acts like Dr. Dog and the Wailers. These performances were more building blocks to Marinari’s eventual role in education. Those experiences “allowed me to have that touring-performing musician lifestyle, which definitely strengthened me as a teacher,” he says.

Teaching has always been one of Marinari’s goals. For him, being a successful musician meant paying it forward to future generations. His motivation comes in part from having close relationships with his own teachers. “That mentor-student relationship was always something I highly valued,” Marinari admits. “I looked forward to being on the other side of that relationship as a teacher myself one day.” He currently works as a percussion instructor at Goucher and director of the Charm City Music School (CCMS) that he founded.

Opening CCMS was a natural evolution. To prepare, Marinari taught at various music programs as a Goucher student and beyond. He fondly recalls using a Zip car to reach a student an hour away. “I was actually paying for the opportunity because the money I made as a teacher didn’t cover the expense of getting out there,” Marinari says. Each experience—including roles with Music for the Young Child, BSO Orchkids, and as music director at Drool of Rock—helped him build a growing student cohort. “It got to the point where I was teaching about a hundred students out of my home, essentially,” he remembers.

This prompted him to find a dedicated space and officially establish CCMS in 2022. Today, CCMS is a vibrant community program dedicated to students. “We really invest in them and encourage them to develop a positive, healthy, and lifelong relationship with music and the arts,” Marinari highlights. He is proud to say that CCMS is now one of Baltimore’s fastest-growing music schools, an accomplishment brought on by Marinari’s years of effort. “I’ve taken elements from everything I’ve done over the years since I was a kid,” Marinari says. “Everything I’ve done, I’m putting back into what I’m doing.”