Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Joel Quebec | Sgt. 1st Class Jordon Lynch plays the tubular bells during the Memorial Day...... read more read more
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Music is a big part of Jordan Lynch’s life. For the past 10 years, he’s used music as a way to give back to his community here.
As a member of the 88th Readiness Division’s 338th Army Band, Lynch fulfills two roles. He is the Army Reserve administrator for his unit as a civilian and a sergeant first class drilling with his unit monthly. When he’s not working either of those two duties, Lynch volunteers time with various organizations and groups across the greater Columbus area.
“I've played solo music once a month at the local Farmer's Market during their season (May-Oct) building relationships and friendships with vendors, shoppers, and passersby,” Lynch said. “Through the market, I found that my favorite audience was playing music for the kids who always liked to stop and listen and dance along to songs.”
From this realization, and the birth of his son in 2013, Lynch began volunteering with the local Child Development Center at the Defense Supply Center Columbus to play music at events and other engagements.
“I asked if they would like some music for the gallery hop and I and Master Sgt. Bruce Smith (also of the 338th band) have been volunteering for the kids as part of the Hop every year since,” Lynch said.
At the age of 3, Lynch’s son Charlie was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. So, Lynch and his wife Sarah found a local private school that specialized in helping children on the spectrum. Through the school, Charlie was introduced to a number of different types of therapy programs. One of those programs was musical therapy.
“In Ohio, music therapy is not covered under the department of developmental disabilities or autism scholarship so all music therapy support provided is either paid out of pocket by the parents or via donations. I knew that I wanted to help support the program which is when I conceptualized my idea for ‘Pieces’ my solo album of kids’ music.”
The recording process totaled about eight months and included assistance from Lynch’s musician friends. On March 1, 2019, he was able to release the album and 50 percent of the proceeds have gone toward the therapy program at his son’s school.
As Charlie transitioned to a new school for kindergarten, music remained a large part Jordan’s involvement at the school. He volunteered to play various instruments during assemblies and was set to play banjo for the high school spring musical, before COVID restrictions shut that down.
“Presently, I'm finding ways outside of telework and assisting my wife with homeschooling the kids to stay connected with the community online, sharing performance videos on my local Facebook page and on community Facebook groups,” Lynch said. “I have a few projects in the works similar to the 88th bands’ social media project where I have been helping the general music teacher with a compilation of ‘What a Wonderful World’ and I partook in our community's porch sing-a-long of ‘Lean on Me.’”
Music, in any shape and form, will continue to be a large part of Lynch’s life for the foreseeable future.
“A lot of my inspiration to get out and perform for the community now is to set an example for my kids, that through music you can bring people together,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 02.08.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.08.2021 11:07 |
| Story ID: | 388601 |
| Location: | COLUMBUS, OH, US |
| Web Views: | 28 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Army Reserve Bandsman Volunteers Time, Musical Talents, by Zachary Mott, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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