Asheville – Even before Billy Jonas began playing music with bands at Ohio’s Oberlin College, he and his friends were making their own instruments. Upcycling would be the term used today, but back in the late 1980s, it was simply finding new uses for everyday objects.
Jonas’ first homemade music maker was an egg slicer, a plastic and wire contraption that makes slicing and dicing hard-boiled eggs both easy and fun. Did you know it also creates music if you pluck or strum those wires like a harp? Billy Jonas happily remembers discovering that fact.
During our interview, he grabbed a slicer he keeps in his music room and played a little for me. “It’s beautiful,” he said, “and I remember thinking it was my little secret that it could make music.”
That unlikely kitchen utensil was his first taste of finding joy in creating all sorts of sounds from whatever was available.
His parents encouraged his creative muse and ensured he could take lessons in piano, guitar, and trombone. He also studied composition in high school. At that time, he and his friends would have recording sessions in the kitchen with their makeshift instruments.
Another defining moment was when he was a child at summer camp. Jonas’ introduction to sitting around a campfire and singing with a large group was life-altering. “Even at eight years old, I got it. When you’re in a campfire situation, when you’re singing together, you become an organism. You become one. And it’s been borne out since then. In any setting where you’re electrified by a lecture, a performance, or a church or synagogue service, the whole thing is about connecting and becoming. It’s about feeling ourselves as one organism. There’s no separation between us.”
As a professional singer, songwriter, teacher, and percussionist, Billy Jonas has carried those epiphanies with him, making both the upcycled instruments and the crowd an integral part of his work.
Touring internationally as part of a band or as a solo artist, in both secular and faith-based settings, is only part of his career. When he’s home in Asheville, NC, he is a member of the sacred music team at Congregation Beth HaTephila.
And, of course, there’s his new summer camp, “Camp Bangin’ & Sangin’!” which also takes a unique approach to the creation of music. As explained on his website, the third annual “Camp Bangin’ & Sangin’s!” mission is “In the interest of connection, bridging divides, and putting more love in the world through music, CB&S! seeks to honor and nurture the creativity of every participant, regardless of previous skill, ability, or talent.”
The camp is divided into week-long sessions for ages ranging from “rising second-graders” to adults, with a comprehensive and engaging itinerary. Activities include singing, songwriting, body percussion, homemade instrument making, and learning to be comfortable onstage.
Held at Odyssey Community School in Asheville, the day campers also have the option of swimming and playing games. It is, after all, a summer camp.
Jonas wants the camp to be as inclusive as possible, so he has created four scholarships for each session.
To ensure intentional inclusivity, Billy Jonas reached out to OpenDoors Asheville to fill some of those scholarship spots. OpenDoors Asheville is a nonprofit organization with a mission to “break the cycle of poverty through education, one child at a time,” working with children from families experiencing persistent poverty in need of educational support.
Ensuring that the campers are a racially, ethnically, and economically diverse group is a core part of Jonas’ overall goal, which he calls “bridging divides.” This is a collection of music-based projects and initiatives aimed at healing rifts within ourselves, our families, our communities, and our world.
Other aspects of Jonas’ work include interfaith workshops, concerts, and what he calls “co-missions,” the writing of anthems and theme songs created jointly with organizations and institutions to energize and raise funds for social justice initiatives.
Given the large disparities between cultural, racial, social, and economic classes in our country, this work is both relevant and, in my belief, immeasurably important. Over the centuries, we have witnessed monumental changes brought about by art. Not only growth and change in the artists themselves, but also how their art has inspired movements, revolutions, and progress across communities around the world.
While Jonas has specific objectives for his campers, there is always room for the inspiration, thoughts, and ideas that each individual brings to the groups.
For more information, please visit BillyJonas.com.