Willie Smith was trained on instrument repairs on the plant floor of the Conn-Selmer factory in Elkhart over 30 years ago. He began working in the music industry with the Vincent Bach Co...
Marvin Snyder became president of Rico Reeds in 1976, after managing the cane plantations, which were used to make the reeds. His father worked with the Lockie family, who owned a chain o...
Denver Spence joined the music industry in 1968 after having been involved with his school marching bands and school band programs since he was in elementary school. He worked as a schoo...
David St John began his career in music retail in 1967 and since that time he has devoted his career to bringing music and music lessons to the lives of his customers. David worked for a...
Tabor Stamper was a band director before joining the manufacturing side of the industry for which he has a true passion. During his NAMM Oral History interview, conducted in March 2011, T...
Jane Stanton worked for the war effort during World War II, which was before she met Ken Stanton, who was a band director, wishing to open a music store. Jane played a vital role in the s...
Gabe Starkey's journey to president of Fox Products is a testament to his dedication and passion for music. With a love for music and a deep appreciation for manufacturing, Gabe's path le...
Dee Starkey recalls the days when his father, Jim, had a well known dance band in Wichita and played at night while teaching music during the day. In 1954 he opened Jim Starkey Music wit...
John Stavish and his sister took over the music company their parents established in the early 1950s. John recalls the first milestone of the business was when it moved out of the family...
Jim Stella began playing the trumpet in the fourth grade, continued through college, and attended instrument repair school immediately after. He began working for Leblanc in the Martin Ba...
Ellie Stevens has a smile that lights up the room. And when that room is the lobby of Ted Brown Music in Tacoma, people seem to feel right at home right when they walk in the door! As a k...
Leslie Stirm is the owner of the Instrumental Music Center in Tucson, Arizona. Joining the store in 2001, Leslie has helped develop the store’s team, which has a strong focus on customer ...
Harold Stone served the music products industry in many ways over a long and celebrated career. After working in a music retail store (Mays Music), Harold joined the CG Conn Company where...
John Stoner came into the music products industry as an outsider when he joined the Conn-Selmer team in the early 2000s. As a father of a band student, he took part in fundraising and sup...
Virgil Storm was trained on instrument repairs on the plant floor of the Conn-Selmer factory in Elkhart over 30 years ago. He began working in the music industry with the Vincent Bach Co...
Clint Strait was born in Austin, TX and is the 3rd generation to work for the Strait Music Company. Clint is carrying on his family’s tradition of great customer service and selection to ...
David Strait is one of two sons of original Strait Music Company owner and founder, Dan Strait. During his interview David talked about growing up working with their father in a true fami...
Robert Strait is proud of the music retail traditions that his father developed when their family owned store was first established back in 1967. Since that time, his father, Dan, along w...
David Straubinger started a small business in 1969 to repair and rebuild woodwind instruments. He determined early on that one area of consistent concern was they way flute pads were repl...
Seth Strickland had a wonderful grade school music teacher who was a great inspiration for him. Seth played saxophone throughout high school and in the jazz band. He later performed in a ...
Al Sturchio has served the Texas Bandmasters Association for over 25 years as director and also as president. His passion and unbelievable energy has been a large part of the success of t...
Scott Summerhays was the President of the company his parents established in Salt Lake City back in 1936. Scott and his brother Briant worked together to grow the family business and even...
Dave Surber’s father was a United States Navy musician who worked for the Leblanc Company after he retired from the navy. When Dave was looking for a job his father found one for him in ...
Wes Sutton has a background as a musician and a welder and wasn’t too sure about an opening at King Music Company in Brownwood, Texas, but he was looking for a change so he took a chance....
Millie Swanson was known as “The Sweetheart of Wurlitzer.” She joined the company in 1931 as an office clerk while still in high school. Over the years, as Wurlitzer grew into the largest...
Michael Sweeney has been heavily involved in all aspects of music education over his career in the music industry. Originally a public school band director, he’s been a full-time employe...
Wolfe Taninbaum was a leader in the development of synthetic reeds, although he is best known for his mouthpiece designs. The Taninbaum mouthpiece company was established in 1952 to provi...
Elaine Taylor began working on the bench at Selmer in Elkhart in 1975, where she covered cases. Over the years she has worked in the cork and padding department for saxophones, also in t...
Bryce Taylor was one of the best known and respected bandmasters in the state of Texas. His school bands performed at the Midwest Band Clinic, TMEA, and the Texas Bandmaster’s Association...
Terry Taylor has worked in the music industry his entire career. After his service in the Marine Corp, Terry began working for CG Conn in the factory in Elkhart, Indiana. He later worke...
Cynthia Templeton has worked for one and only one company in the music industry. She was hired by Selmer in Elkhart, Indiana in the early 1970s and remained with the company for her enti...
Carl Thacker was a teenager when he began repairing band instruments. In fact he was a Charter Member of NAPBIRT and attended the first annual convention before he was 20 years old. Aft...