music Archives - StoryHook

Case Maranville

By storyhook

Managing over 200 apartments means that late night phone calls are just part of the job.

There are the usual stories – of good folks paying their rent and friendships that form. And then there are other sorts of tales – of the electricity going out in an apartment because of vandalism or a tenant whose mugshot happens to make the papers.

Fortunately, these are the more unusual situations in residential property management, but Case Maranville recognizes that with each new tenant, there is always an element of risk.

Case has worn many hats over the years, and each venture has had elements of uncertainty. He has been a musician of a nationally known band, has a degree in wildlife management, is an entrepreneur, an audio engineer, and currently co-owns a residential property business with his brother.

Despite the variety of his experiences, each situation has helped inform Case’s perspective and has pushed him to continue to take paths that occasionally involve risk.

Before his property management days, Case played bass and toured with a band he helped form called Vota.

While in the music industry, he and his bandmates understood they couldn’t sit around and wait to be discovered – they had to create their art while simultaneously figuring out how to make it profitable. By devoting themselves to their craft and forging partnerships and connections within the music industry, they were able to tour and perform in front of thousands of people.

“I learned a lot about working within a partnership and learned about self-determination. Those lessons help me now in the business I run with my brother Cole.”

In 2006, Case began to realize that he needed to begin considering a career move when his wife Lindsey gave birth to their first son River. While the band had been a great fit before kids, it soon became apparent that touring and having a family wouldn’t remain sustainable.

Case left the band and he and Lindsey decided to move from their farm just west of Lincoln and into a house in the heart of the city.

“This was in 2008, just before the housing market crashed, so the banks looked at our credit and didn’t think twice about letting us take out a second mortgage. We rented out the farm and I quickly started learning what it meant to be a landlord.”

While he and his family settled into their life in Lincoln, Case found a job working as an audio engineer for a large church in west Omaha. This job provided him with a good baseline income, the ability to use his expertise in sound and music and the flexibility to slowly begin exercising his entrepreneurial mind.

One day, Case’s brother Cole called him up to propose a business idea. He had been reading books about investments and thinking about rental property in Lincoln and in the meantime had found an intriguing opportunity in the form of a duplex for sale near downtown Lincoln.

Neither brother had any idea that this initial purchase would take them to the place they are today, with 236 residential units in 37 buildings throughout the Near South neighborhood.

“We now offer a variety of options. We have a lot of tenants aged 20-30 looking for the interesting old converted houses near downtown. We also have people with fixed incomes and those who need subsidized housing.”

Case said that his work has become a really good fit for his personality.

The job requires him to be a “finder” – one of his favorite things to do – of the right properties to buy and the right tenants to fill those spaces. He likes that he gets the opportunity to provide good housing situations for all different kinds of needs and strives to provide fair, good service for his tenants.

He also finds his interpersonal and problem-solving skills being put to use. From lease agreements to conflict resolution, Case finds that forthright, respectful communication is key to maintaining good tenant-landlord relationships.

“I’ve learned a lot about people in the last eight years. Property management is 50% about the buildings and 50% about humanity.”

Case appreciates the opportunity to work alongside his brother and to be invested in the work together, recognizing that they both bring important things to the table.

One of the elements Case most appreciates about his work is the opportunity for both freedom and control, something that has slowly come as the business has developed.

“Owning your own business is a 24/7 thing. It’s just the way it is. There are eventual perks though – being able to control your own schedule. I want to work hard, but not be a slave to the job. I will work hard for those ends.

“For now, music is on hold and that’s ok. That’s how it’s supposed to be. We still have music around the house. Even the 19-month-old will get on the mike when we’re all hanging out down in the basement. You have to remember that just because things are on hold doesn’t mean it’s over. The things you love will come back around.”

Every business story or idea Case speaks of is laced with a thoughtful approach. He is not simply a straightforward engineer or businessman, nor is he an artist who can’t figure out what he’s about. His self-determination is evident and the ease with which he moves speaks to an inner confidence and peace.

Case isn’t on a crusade, but seems to intuitively understand that the risky things in life are sometimes the most valuable. He works hard to make sure he remains engaged creatively and thoughtfully as he serves the people within his sphere of influence.

February 15, 2017

Love5

Barbara Zach

By Asha Timperley

Barbara Zach didn’t grow up in a music-saturated house.

Her parents didn’t have a favorite band or music genre that they played for her and her five siblings, and they also didn’t own a TV.

It’s not that her parents were opposed to music or entertainment, it just wasn’t something that was ever emphasized.

But the Zach house wasn’t quiet either, Barbara said. There were six kids running around at any given time and as they got older the noise only intensified.

Music filtered into the house via piano lessons and a Christian rock band that her four brothers started. It was loud and a little chaotic.

So, just how did Barbara end up as the Executive Director of Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra? Now, that’s a good story.

Barbara said a future in music was never on her radar as a child. Sure, she was in choir during high school, but a career in music? No way.

She was a highly focused and driven child, which led her to be a math major when she attended UNL. She loved the precise nature of all things math-related – it just made sense to her. While in school, she auditioned for the choir as another way to get involved. Barbara said she was surprised at how much she loved the experience and enjoyed being part of a musical group.

It was during her choir experience that she heard a song that dramatically altered her trajectory – Bach’s St. John Passion. Her choir practiced and performed the 18th century piece and Barbara remembers being overwhelmed by the emotion behind the composition. It was a feeling that she’d never experienced, and one she didn’t want to ever lose.

She became a Bach addict, letting her math-geared brain obsess over the musical perfection of his work and getting lost in the beauty and intricacy of each of his compositions.

Up until this point, Barbara was convinced she’d graduate and work as a high-level math teacher. She was a calculus TA, but decided to also join the School of Music and double major in math and piano performance.

Shortly after graduating, a job at the Lincoln symphony opened up and she jumped at the chance to be a part of something music-related. The actual position was basically three jobs rolled into one, and for a high-achieving and focused person like Barbara, it was the perfect fit.

After being in a secluded piano practice room for the past few years of college, she was suddenly flung into the music community. She loved the way 70 unique musicians could come together and create music that highlighted their collective skills, merging their individual talents into something that was greater than any one musician.

A few years later the executive director position at the symphony opened up, and Barbara was ready to take on a new challenge. It’s a role that involves a great knowledge of music, but also a lot of community interaction.

Some days are filled with meetings and community collaboration, others are more logistical in nature, but no two days of work are the same. The days are full and the hours are long, but Barbara said she loves it all. She loves how music is such a big part of her life, how she gets the privilege of intimately knowing the Lincoln music community and that she can see the work of the musicians and donors come together in a way that celebrates and impacts the city.

But it’s not a job without stress, and while she shuts off her work email when she leaves the office, she can’t shut down her brain. She’ll wake up in the middle of the night thinking about an upcoming event or trying to solve a work-related problem, because running a nonprofit takes a certain amount of personal investment.

After being in this role for the past 12 years, Barbara has learned a thing or two about herself and her work.

She’s learned the importance of rest, how to take her job seriously, but also take time to recharge.

She’s come to understand the power of music, the way it can unify a community and a city.

And she’s started to understand how her own story plays into all of her work. Sure, she didn’t grow up with music, but she thinks maybe that’s why it is so special to her.

She came to music on her own, with no preconceived notions about what was ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ She found what she loved, what made her think and feel and she went after it.

She still thinks about that moment when she heard Bach’s St. John Passion for the first time and her whole world opened up. There’s something about that moment that Barbara said she carries with her now and always will.

Her story is about finding herself through music. It wasn’t where she expected to find her story, or where she thought she’d be investing in her community, but that element of surprise has made it all the more special.

December 14, 2016

Love4