Sue Smith met her future husband, Craig, when they were both teenagers, working part-time demonstrating Wurlitzer organs at Karnes Music in the Chicago area. Craig was the senior member ...
Lynda Smith started on the piano early in her life and was always fascinated by the instruments at her local record shop. Her love for classical music led her down the path of studying mu...
Connie Smith is the Vice President of Ward-Brodt Music in Madison, Wisconsin. She grew up in music and enjoyed playing music as a young girl, going on to study music in college. While in...
Beth Smith was in her school’s band room when she overheard her director mention getting paid for a job involving music. She inquired and learned there was an opening at the local music s...
Nancy Kewin Smith is a pioneering senior executive who served the music products industry in an era in which she was among a small number of women in high-ranking positions. After earning...
Nazy Smith is the Credit Director at Remo Inc. headquarters in Valencia, California Her dedication to her job and the connection she feels with her fellow workers is very similar to man...
Viola Smith Viola played drums in a number of big bands and small combos during her career in music. She joined Phil Spitalny's all-female orchestra as the drummer and later appeared in s...
Phyllis Snedeker worked for Stanton's Sheet Music Service since the 1960s and was still at work several days a week in 2016 when she was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History program. Wh...
Sondra Blanchard comes to music through theatre. She has worked in regional theatre and internationally as an actor, coach, writer, and director. Over the past 10 years, she has specializ...
Mary Ellen Sorci was destined for a life filled with music, growing up in a household where her parents’ love for the craft set the tone. Her mother, a skilled violinist, and her father, ...
Cassandra Sotos is the owner of AmpRx, which creates products, such as the BrownBox, to provide a safe range of optimized voltage reduction levels to improve sound and help protect ears a...
Diane Sparks and her brother, Donnie, formed a successful singing group in the 1960s. Donnie & Diane performed and recorded a string of hits, most written by Donnie. Diane's husband, ...
Kate Spates is a Co-Founder of The Academy of Musical Performance located in Indio, California. The AMP was the idea of Roman Whittaker who recognized the need to support music education ...
Laurie Spiegel joined Bell Labs in 1973 wanting to explore what digital computers could offer for musical composition beyond what she'd been able to do with traditional acoustic, written ...
Alyce Spoto is the Beginning Band Director in Muscatine, Iowa, where she assists 4th graders in choosing their instruments and teaches 5th graders in the development of their technique. S...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Jo Stafford had a remarkable career as both a big band sing...
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...
Marcia Stearns is a regular attendee at the annual RPMDA conventions and can often be found volunteering to introduce a speaker or tallying the session surveys. Her passion for the busin...
Jackie Stein, like so many of her co-workers at Remo Inc, feels a strong family bond with many of the employees. It is a tempo set by the founder, Remo Belli, who spends time each day he...
Dodie Stevens loves to sing and has for as long as she can remember. Her parents told her she was singing before she talked. Dodie grew up performing on radio and early TV dance programs....
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...
Jeanne Stiernberg teams with her husband, John, to run the Stiernberg Consulting Firm. Since the fourth grade, when she began piano lessons, Jeanne has always been active in music. Whil...
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 ...
Gloria Stone was the book-keeper and the office manager for the Record Plant. Her husband, Chris, and Gary Kellgren opened the recording studio in 1968 in New York City. The company exp...
Sarah Strickland is the School Services Manager for Elefante Music in New Jersey. Her journey began in the rental program before she transitioned into teaching. In 2020, Sarah was promote...
Colleen Summerhays recalled the day in 1940 when she walked into a local music store to inquire about a clerical position. She met the owner, her future husband, Hy Summerhays, who had op...
Katelyn Summerhays was 11 years old when she had her first official job in her family’s music store. Her grandparents opened Summeryhays Music in the Salt Lake City area in 1936, and her ...
Laurel Summerhays was 11 years old when she received her first paycheck working in her family’s music store. Her parents, Hyrum and Colleen, opened Summerhays Music in 1936 and their fami...
Lori Supinie was an active music maker since she was a child. Throughout her life she provided music and music lessons to others as well as being a strong leader within the music products...
Reiko Suzuki discovered her passion for music at a young age as she watched her father and mother operate a company that manufactured harmonicas and other instruments. This coupled with h...
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...
Stacey Swanson was in high school when her band director changed her life by suggesting she switch from the flute to the bassoon. The complexity of the instrument allowed Stacey to carefu...
