We’re pretty sure Jeremy Peters has invented the 30-hour day. Or that he has a Harry Potter-style Time Turner in his arsenal.
How else to explain his seemingly endless list of efforts and accomplishments? Jeremy is the Director of Creative Licensing and Business Affairs at mega-cool record label Ghostly Songs, the co-founder of ALSO mega-cool record label Quite Scientific, the co-organizer of our annual music festival fundraiser Mittenfest. . .he’s on the City Planning Commission in Ann Arbor. . .he recently toured the UK with his church choir. . .he plays the TROMBONE, for Pete’s sake. . .
And somehow, with all this, Jeremy finds the time to be a member of our Board of Directors and our Finance Committee.
We KNOW! It’s unbelievable. We wouldn’t believe it ourselves if we hadn’t met Jeremy! What’s more, even with everything he does, Jeremy is always up to pitch in for 826michigan. We’ve witnessed him washing dishes after a fundraising dinner; we’ve watched him teach a workshop about music writing to 826michigan students. It’s incredibly impressive and we’re so happy to have Jeremy with us!
We caught Jeremy in one of his (few) spare moments to ask him these questions:
How did you hear about 826michigan and why did you want to become involved?
I heard about 826michigan via the local music scene and the event that was the foundation for the current Mittenfest: a little backyard event called Madison Fest, held in the backyard of one Brandon Zwagerman. I own a record label named Quite Scientific Records and one of our first artists (Canada) was playing. That event sponsored the Huron River Arts Initiative and 826michigan — and it was there I found out that one of Canada’s two cellists (yes, two) worked for 826. Over time, I heard more about the organization and had helped organize Mittenfest, which is a major fundraiser for 826michigan. It was from this that I learned more about the awesome mission of 826 and eventually joined the board of directors (was originally on the Board of the A2Y Chamber of Commerce, but my term expired and I was looking for a new challenge). What I didn’t know at the time was how awesome it is to do a workshop, which I finally did for the first time this summer. It was a blast.
Overall, I can’t say enough — 826michigan creates opportunities for kids who may find writing tough or uninteresting at first by making it fun and providing one-on-one experiences. Who can say no to helping an organization who does that?!?!
What is your favorite thing about life in the Ann Arbor area?
My favorite thing, I must say, is the speed of life — we have some of the awesome cultural opportunities and events of a huge city (and anyone who knows me knows I’m always down for more of that), and the way of life of a smaller town. We play at an interesting intersection and that spice is what has kept me here a good near-decade after graduation from the University of Michigan.
Well said, Jeremy! Thanks for all you do to make Ann Arbor a great place to live. We appreciate you!
(PSST: Apply to play Mittenfest VIII! We are also recruiting sponsors for this year’s event. The application for musicians closes September 30. It, and more information about all things Mittenfest, can be found at the snazzy new mittenfest.org — for which we owe thanks to the lovely and talented Autumn Maison.)