Dennis Awe is passionate about the organ! As a recording artist he has performed on many products, endorsing the Lowrey Organ for many decades. As a keen salesman, Dennis has written book...
Marty Baxter entertained the troops during World War II as a member of a singing quartet. While with bands, such as Frankie Master’s Orchestra, she not only sang but arranged the four pa...
Arnold Berlin was a one-time president of Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI) and co-founder of Norlin Music Corp. He is also Mr. M.H. Berlin’s son, one of the true icons of the industry. A...
David Brown grew up in the music industry working with his grandfather at his store, Critchett’s Music in Des Moines, Iowa. Dave started at a young age, first washing windows in the back ...
Louisa Buchanan, hailing from Queensland, Australia, was immersed in music from a young age, mastering the organ at 6 and piano by 12. Alongside her musical journey, she honed her skills ...
Bob Carbone is the co-founder of the Piano & Organ Center in Syracuse, New York. The store has a reputation for their quality products as well as creative lesson programs, which are o...
Jim Connors joined Norlin Corp. originally as the head of the Lowery Organ factories. With his strong background in manufacturing and process control, Jim was able to keep up with the 25%...
Jack Cookerly was an accordionist who was among the first to connect the instrument to the technology behind the electronic keyboard. He was chief engineer at Lowrey Organs and designed a...
Norman Erickson was hired by the Lowrey Company in 1947. At that time, the company was still producing cement powder mixture. However, Lowrey’s owner had an interest in the electronic org...
Tony Fenelon cut his teeth on the Theatre Organ and became the artist in residence at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne in the early 1960s. He recalls performing demos at the NAMM Shows beg...
Jim Hallwyler is a music retailer in Eugene, Oregon whose introduction to the industry was thanks to his father's friend Lyle Heater. The LD Heater Company, formed by Lyle's father in 191...
Jim Hearn brings a great deal of experience to his position as Vice President at Piano Craft in Springfield, Missouri. Jim owned and operated his own music store in a local mall for over ...
Dennis Houlihan played many important roles within the music products industry, all of which have been driven by his passion and love of music and music making. After years as a demonstra...
Garth Hudson sat down at the piano and played several classical works as the NAMM Oral History crew set up the camera and lights. He began by playing, stopping every once in a while, to r...
Kazuo Ishibashi spent over 25 years in the Special Equipment Division of JVC (Japan Victor Corporation) and headed their musical instrument engineering section. JVC marketed electronic o...
Lauri Knapton is the founder of Knapton Musik Knotes in Janesville, Wisconsin. The store, which was established in 2000, provides musical instruments, lessons, and a long list of communit...
Susan Kniepkamp fondly recalls the job opportunity she eagerly pursued at Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), perhaps mostly because it eventually led to meeting her future husband, Albert...
Alberto Kniepkamp engineered many of the electronic organs produced by the Lowrey Organ Company in the 1970s and 80s. Alberto took an active role in the development of the MX1 Lowrey Orga...
Ted Krumwiede was a veteran of the piano industry working for Kimball and Story & Clark in the important re-birth of the piano business following World War II. Ted had training and a ...
Muriel Long began teaching piano in 1959 and since that time two things have been very clear to those who know her, she is a passionate music maker and a heck of a salesperson! She grew u...
Sheilah McDowell is a saleswoman and Lowrey class instructor at Piano Craft in Springfield, Missouri. Her passion for the industry goes back to the days she first met her husband, Jim McD...
Rob Meads recalls his father purchasing a Lowrey Organ and how he could think of nothing he would rather do than have a career making music! As a teenager, Rob was hired by legendary musi...
Lloyd Meyer was the president of Renner US, the world-renowned provider of piano keyboard actions. His long and productive career began with retail experience in Minnesota at the large Da...
Don Middleton taught music lessons around town before working for Billy Hill at Hill’s Music in 1967. A few months later Mr. Hill announced his retirement and asked Don if he wanted to bu...
Bruce Mihalek has played the piano since he was just eight years old. When he saw the Beatles on TV, Bruce purchased a guitar and formed his own band. The band was the Animals Fax of Lyfe...
Tom Miller began his career in the piano business at Jordan Kitts Music in Bethesda, Maryland in 1976. His father had purchased a Hammond organ from the same company in 1960, and at age 6...
Greg Murdaugh is the president of Piano Craft in Springfield, Missouri. The store, which is co-owned by his wife Shelley, opened in 1999. Greg grew up in the business, as his father owne...
Bob Olsen often said because he did not play a musical instrument yet had a successful career in the music products industry that he was “a vegetarian in the business of prime meat.” The ...
John Riley grew up playing music and earned a business degree in Boston. He applied for a job at the Wurlitzer retail store and was hired by a man named Bob Fletcher. When Bob moved to ...
After 40 years in business, dealing with almost every brand and every manufacturer, Camille says she still enjoys the thrill of finding the perfect piano to suit her customers’ needs. And...
Cheryl Seppala has given the gift of music to countless students in her organ store over her career. She has never lost that spark in her eye that has encouraged her students to stay with...
