Todd Smith is the Band Director at River Trails Middle School in Mount Prospect, Illinois. He began teaching 17 years ago in River Grove, Illinois and moved to RTMS 12 years ago to his cu...
Glen Schneider teaches band, technique, and percussion classes at Metea Valley High School in Aurora, Illinois. He received his education at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvani...
Beth Lyons is the 5th through 8th Grade Band Director at five different elementary schools and one middle school in Oak Lawn, Illinois. She has taught several elements of music, ranging f...
Lisa Lang is the 5th and 6th Grade Band Director and Assistant High School Band Director in Independence, Iowa. Ms. Lang has taught for 25 years in both Iowa and Delaware and received her...
Herman Knoll has had a breadth of experience over the years teaching instrumental music at the primary, secondary, and collegiate levels. After his tenure at Indiana State University, he ...
Dorothy Jacobi is the Instrumental Music Educator in the Solon Community School District. She is in her 15th year of teaching, and has taught everything from general music, instrumental m...
Bryan Itzkowitz is the Director of Bands at Holmes Middle School in Wheeling, Illinois. He became interested in becoming a music educator in eighth grade when his band director gave him t...
Phillip Hash is the Associate Professor and Coordinator of Undergraduate Music Education at the School of Music - Illinois State University. He holds an Ed. D. in music education from the...
Nancy Golden teaches band in four of the seven elementary schools in the Hinsdale District 181. She discusses various methods of recruiting new students for the band, such as showing recr...
Chip DeStefano has served as the Director of Bands at McCracken Middle School for fifteen years now. Under his direction, the McCracken Middle School Symphonic Band has received first div...
Anthony Camarda received his education at DePaul University and is the band teacher at Marlowe Middle School in Lake in the Hills, IL. His experience ranges across a number of different t...
Robert Levin was the youngest of Chuck and Marge Levin’s three children, literally growing up in the store. From his earliest memories, he can remember observing and learning his father...
Bob Rufkahr's long career in the music business began in retail in 1962! He later moved into wholesale and manufacturing before he formed his own company, Image Marketing in 1980. Along...
Fred Greene enjoys running the C.F. Martin & Company factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, in fact you could say it is his dream job. As a guitarist he has passion to the tenth degree w...
Chris Thomas has worked in several areas of the C.F. Martin & Company factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Chris worked in the binding department among others before having the opportu...
Robert Schaeffer is the resident historian for Rice Music House in South Carolina. Having been in the store since he was a young boy, getting to meet with the founder and having worked i...
Richard Riley served as Secretary of Education under Bill Clinton and was a two term Governor of South Carolina. His love of music goes back to his parents and his piano lessons as a boy...
Dave Phillips met his wife in a band he created in high school. They have been making music ever since and as of 1977 when they opened their retailing business, they have assisted countl...
Alice Phillips met her future husband when she joined a band while in high school. Dave sought to learn about the technical side of the business while Alice developed a background in the...
Mike Moran is the noted recording engineer who helped put the sound on tape for several hits as well as historic albums. While working for RCA, Mike engineered several sessions for Elvis...
Paul McDermott is one of the most passionate music retailers you will ever meet! As founder of Hot Licks Guitar Shop in Waldorf, Maryland, Paul has used his passion to bring the joy of m...
Vincent Marinelli is the founder of Expert Woodwind Service, a music store specializing in hand-selected and expertly fine-tuned professional clarinets and saxophones. A musician himself,...
Jimmy "Cricket" Lockard earned his nick name while playing the electric guitar in the sound of a chirping cricket. Since there were two other Jimmy's at the time, the name Cricket stuck ...
Paul Laubin followed in his father's footsteps both as a symphonic oboist and as an instrument maker. Alfred Laubin made his first oboe in 1931. He steadily improved his design, and wen...
Debra Karlowitch likes to tell people that she started working at C.F. Martin & Company the same week Chris Martin joined full time! At the time of her NAMM Oral History interview in...
Leon Huff cut his teeth in the recording studios as a session player in the 1950s before meeting Kenneth Gamble. The two became one of the most prolific and successful songwriting and re...
Charlie Gracie was an early Rockabilly performer who recorded three charted songs in a single year, 1957, right in the heart of the golden era of rock and roll. His biggest hit "Butterfl...
Kenneth Gamble was singing and playing the guitar in a band he formed in Philly when he first met his future songwriting partner, Leon Huff. The two discovered they had the same goals of...
Amani Duncan served as the Vice President of Marketing for C.F. Martin & Company in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Since joining the company, Amani has focused her attention on embracing the...
DJ GrandMixer DXT brought the turntable front and center as a musical instrument! DXT is a proud member of the "first generation" of DJs in the dawn of Hip-Hop. When he recorded a sessi...
