The massive arched windows had been removed and sent to a specialist in Greensboro to be re-glazed and painted. He imagined their return and the sunlight that would shine on future concerts, plays, and meetings in the 250-seat space.

The Murphey School, used as an elementary school by the Orange County Schools from 1923 to 1959, and Murphy (the "e" was dropped) School Road are named after Archibald DeBow Murphey (1777-1832), a state senator and judge whose vision of state-funded schools, roads, and canals never quite materialized. Interred in the cemetery of the Hillsborough Presbyterian Church, he died respected but poor.

"I've read quite a bit about Archibald Murphey and visited his grave," said Miller, who bought the 7-acre property last spring. "He sounds like a very interesting and far-sighted guy, but he had his troubles as well."

Aside from the "troubles" part, an analogy between Miller and Murphey is apt.

Miller owned and ran the six-store Music Loft chain of instruments and equipment from 1980 to 2001, then changed course and completed the Duke University Non-Profit Management program. In 2004, he created the family foundation Shared Visions to support nonprofit health, human service, cultural and environmental programs in Durham and Orange counties with small grants, technical assistance and shared space.

The Murphey School teacherage, behind the large brick school, is a good example. Once home to the school's three or four teachers, the yellow wood-frame house will serve as the new offices -- for $1 a month -- of the Mental Health Association in Orange County, which for years has been in Carrboro.

The building will also be the first home of the Mental Health Association of Durham County. Miller hopes the office "will galvanize this currently volunteer organization to expand capacity and take on increased work in Durham County."

Several years ago Miller, a Montgomery, Ala., native and 1980 Duke graduate, bought and rehabbed an office building in Durham.

"He gave us a wonderful discount on a building he renovated with his own sweat and money," said Bob Hall of Democracy N.C., its present owner. "His gift was a blessing."

In exchange, Hall says Democracy N.C. is fulfilling Miller's vision by providing a home at below-market rates for several other nonprofits, including the Durham's People's Alliance, a community wholeness center, an animal rights group, a Middle East peace initiative, and a voting rights organization.

"He was a magical figure for us, a whimsical angel who turned dreams -- his and ours -- into reality," Hall said.

Karen Dunn of Carrboro's Club Nova, a mental health clubhouse, calls Miller instrumental in transitioning the program from the public to the private sector when the state instituted sweeping mental health reforms. "Without Jay's expertise and compassion, I never would have gotten through the paperwork required for obtaining our federal tax-exempt status," she said. "When he walks in the door at Club Nova he is at home. Our staff and members adore him."

Miller is on the board of XDS, Inc., which serves clients with significant and chronic mental illness, and has helped the TROSA drug treatment program set up business to employ recovering addicts. He raises money for Freedom House Recovery Center and the ArtsCenter, was treasurer of Chapel Hill's Community Church, and has been a consumer credit counselor at the Women's Center for 10 years.

Mark Sullivan of the Mental Health Association in Orange County says Miller uses talents and resources he developed in the business world to make people's lives better.

"It might come from his background in music, but Jay has the ability to help non-profits jam with each other, like a record producer gets musicians to play off each other," he said.

An accomplished saxophonist and keyboardist, Miller plays those instruments with Lise Uyanik and the Mobile City Band, the Righteous Mothers, and Southwing. He sings and plays guitar with Up Cane Creek, a new bluegrass/Americana band. Uyanik, a bandmate since the 1980s, says "the enthusiasm and love he brings to music are rivaled only by his humility -- he has never realized how gifted he is." Several of his compositions are on the Mobile City CD.

The Murphey School , which will ultimately include 10,000 square feet of office, meeting, and performance space, has been nominated for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The application includes the history of the auditorium, a 1936 addition which was funded by the Works Projects Administration of the Roosevelt Administration.

One of Jay Miller's philosophies is that "you can't get enough of what you don't need." His work with the Music Loft has put him in a position to focus on Shared Visions and the Murphey School project despite the pressures that an economic downturn may bring. "I'm enamored with the beauty and history and the renovation," he said. "I have no doubt that in the long run I'll be very happy with the final product and hope that it will be of service to the community for many years."