Jerry Pellegrino wanted to own a business ever since he was a kid, so when the opportunity arose to start his own music store, he jumped at the chance. With a small loan and the help of s...
Bernice Pelmear began working in the Selmer factory in Elkhart, Indiana in 1973. She was trained by veteran co-workers, a tradition she carried on as a trainer years later. Her work foc...
Rafael Perez played a variety of instruments at an early age. He played saxophone in his school’s marching and jazz bands and with several local groups as a teenager. Right out of high sc...
Jerome Perrod was appointed the CEO of the Buffet Group in 2014, an opportunity he was both honored and excited about. Given his background and interest in management and developing proce...
Sylvia Perry and her late husband, Mack, teamed up in 1945 to establish Peripole, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Perry taught music and worked to innovate and manufacture instruments for the growth an...
William Petersen served as president of Selmer Corporation from 1975-1990 during a time of great growth. Bill took over as the head of the renowned band instrument company after the retir...
Kendra Peterson is the retail manager for Ward-Brodt Music in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. The store was established in 1927 and has built a strong reputation for service, particularly for schoo...
Robert Petteruti sat in the showroom of Twin City Music in Providence, RI, for his NAMM Oral History interview. The showroom is in the store his father opened in the 1930s and within the ...
Mimi Piper was looking for a part time job after raising her three boys when a neighbor told her of an opening at Rico Reeds in Los Angeles. She joined the company as an assistant in 197...
Jerry Portman learned so much from his father and his grandfather about how to treat customers. Those lessons became key as Jerry set out to not only take over the family’s music store, ...
Joseph Prelorentzos sat next to his brother, Kostas, as they became the first people to be interviewed from Greece for the NAMM Oral History Program. The interview took place in Anaheim a...
Kostas Prelorentzos, along with his brother, Joseph, were the first to be interviewed for the NAMM Oral History Program from Greece. It is an honor to include their story within our colle...
Bill Price was active in the band instrument business after being involved with other industries and as a result has a very unique and positive perspective on the music industry. Bill wa...
Bill Pritchard played in a military band while serving the United States for over 20 years. When he retired, he took up what he had loved to do during his service, repairing band instrume...
Mario Procida formed a music distribution company in El Salvador in 1958 that soon expanded into several surrounding countries as well. His strong understanding of musical traditions and ...
Steve Purcell grew up in a musical family and knew at a young age he wanted a life in music. After earning his degree, Steve was hired as a band director in 1977. Three years later he was...
George Quinlan Jr. began working in the store his father established before he can remember, sweeping up on weekends and helping with band rental season in the fall. George worked in ever...
George Quinlan was proud of his store outside of Chicago, for which the walls are full of photographs of the children he rented or sold an instrument to, and the fact that he survived har...
Melvin Quinones has a fascinating backstory as to how he established Victory Musical Instruments in Puerto Rico. It all began with his love and passion for making music, which started whe...
Mark Ragin jumped from working at the retail level of a music store into wholesale when he realized there was a real need for a band instrument and accessory distributor geared toward the...
Eberhard Rahm started out as a flute maker in 1976 and was in charge of the former Erlbach Flute company. 1991 Schreiber & Sons put him in charge of the production, when they opened...
Nick Rail is the president and founder of the retail string of stores in Southern California with his namesake that began in 1986. Nick began his career as a band instrument repairman for...
Les Ray was a well spoken advocate for music education. As the founder of ASM Music Schools in Florida, he created a respected educational program that includes some 2,500 students each w...
Bud Reglein’s uncle formed a small mouthpiece company in Elkhart, IN and named it jj Babbitt as he felt it sounded better than Jessie James Babbitt. Bud took over the company in 1939 and,...
William Reglein played a key role in the growth and development of the jj Babbitt Company since taking over its presidency from his father, Bud. William’s great uncle was the company’s fo...
Jean Francois Rico had an early interest in news photography, but following his grandmother’s passing, Jean began working at the company his grandfather had established, Rico Reeds. The c...
Tristann Rieck’s first instrument was the song flute, which was an introduction to the band program in grade school, which she joined the very next year. She later took up the alto horn ...
Judy Rinehart began working for the Selmer Company in Elkhart, Indiana in the 1970s. Her work at the time was very precise hand work, which changed over the years with the advent of the ...
Ed Rizzuto was surrounded by music his entire life. As a young boy he started playing trombone, which he continued throughout high school and into his military service in the early 1950s....
Liane Rockley gained a degree in flute performance in New York before moving to Denver, where she taught music at a local music store. The storeowner, Bob Rockley, who would become her fa...
John Rogers provided an in-depth overview of the Paxman Company during his NAMM Oral History interview, which happened to have taken place as the company was celebrating 100 years in busi...
Steve Rorie landed a part time job the very same day he graduated high school at the Vincent Bach plant in Elkhart, Indiana. He later would accompany his grandfather and father at EK Bles...
