The first thing that strikes people when they enter Akron Music Institute is the smell, in that it smells really good, like, fancy boutique or overpriced candle good. Owner Alexandre Marr said he hired a company that scents luxury hotel lobbies to do the same for his new school in downtown Akron.
“We’re very aesthetic people,” Marr said, “but the idea was for lessons to be in a place that’s beautiful, that doesn’t really feel like Akron, a place that feels experiential.”
At Akron Music Institute, Marr, 32, has thought of everything, from the aroma that greets guests when they walk in and the comfortable lobby seating (sourced locally from Arhaus in Boston Heights, where Marr’s partner Dominic works) to the five studios cloaked in black and soundproofed to block out noise.
The school, which offers private lessons in cello, guitar, piano, violin and voice to students of all ages and abilities, opened in June at 33 S. Main St.
Two months in and Akron Music Institute is thriving. More than 200 students take weekly lessons with the school’s 14 instructors.
“We have students as young as 4 and as old as their 80s, I think,” Marr said.
Before opening, Marr — who is a classically trained pianist — and some of Akron Music Institute’s other instructors taught lessons out of Marr’s Akron residence. Once his home studio started filling up, Marr knew it was time to expand.
For him, downtown was an easy choice.
“There is a lack of quality places for a person to take private lessons on a classical instrument, especially in strings,” he said. “You can find a piano teacher. You can find a voice teacher. But finding a quality provider for music instruction seems like a huge gap and an opportunity here in Akron.”
Something new for downtown Akron
The Akron Music Institute received funding from Downtown Akron Partnership’s Start Downtown program, which matches new business owners with downtown property owners and provides rental assistance for six months.
The goal of the program is to increase retail traffic and storefront activity and to support diversity and business ownership downtown.
Kimberly Beckett, president and CEO of Downtown Akron Partnership, said Marr’s business brings something new to downtown.
“Arts and culture are just centered here naturally, and so having lots of different ways that people can experience that definitely adds a dynamic to the neighborhood that is different,” Beckett said. “Downtowns kind of lend themselves to that diversity of use.”
Besides running the business, Marr also teaches piano to 50 students. One of those students is 10-year-old Arthur Gaton of Cuyahoga Falls. He started taking lessons with Marr three years ago.
“He’s very kind,” Arthur said of Marr. “He’s a really good teacher.”
While a bit subdued on the phone, Arthur is not afraid of a little showmanship, as evidenced by his performance at Akron Music Institute’s June recital. (Note the tie-dye button-up and the bow at the end.)
“I like getting to show people my talent,” he said.
For Arthur’s mom, Jessica Gaton, Marr’s teaching ability and his relationship with his students stood out.
“He’s less being a teacher of piano students and more training young musicians. And it absolutely shows,” she said. “All of his students are exceptional at whatever level they show up at, because he treats them with the respect and gravitas that one treats a professional musician.”
A return to a music-filled career in Northeast Ohio
Marr has been teaching piano almost as long as he’s been playing. He started studying the instrument at age 10 with a teacher in his hometown of Poland, Ohio, near Youngstown. Five years later, his teacher offered him a teaching apprenticeship.
“I just loved it,” Marr said. “It stuck with me as a career opportunity ever since then.”
After high school, Marr studied piano at the Cleveland Institute of Music before transferring to Kent State University to study fashion. After graduating, he worked in product development for several years before making his way back to music full time.
Besides running Akron Music Institute, Marr is also the music director for Mishkan Or, a Jewish congregation in Beachwood; the music director for Church of the Western Reserve in Pepper Pike; the executive director for the Hudson-based nonprofit Music from the Western Reserve; and the music director for the popular YouTuber Randy Rainbow. On top of all that, he also performs as a solo artist and collaboratively.
“I can’t believe that this has become a viable option for a career to me,” Marr said. “So it just feels like an insane blessing every day. It doesn’t feel like work to me at all. It feels like adrenaline.”
Right now, Akron Music Institute is almost at 50% capacity. Eventually, Marr wants to expand into offering lessons on reed and brass instruments, which would require a second location. In his five-year plan, Marr envisions opening two more locations in Cleveland.
For now, though, he is focused on his students at Akron Music Institute.
“What really excites me is watching them,” Marr said. “It’s like a story. It’s a narrative, every one of their lives. They accelerate at such different rates. They’re interested in such different music. They have different personalities. They have different challenges.”
He added, “I think it’s my favorite part of my career. I love performing, and I love everything else I do — but teaching is so much fun.”
