Lyndell Thompson was delighted when her two sons, Phil and James, came to her and her husband with a new idea for their Nashville-based leather company. The year was 1978. Until that poi...
Patti Thurston, VP of Efficacy at The Designory, embodies a spirit of gratitude that permeates every aspect of her life and work. With more than 20 years of dedicated service to The Desig...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Martha Tilton was a famous singer during the Big Band Era b...
Helen Tozzi was hired to set up the accounting for a new music store that was opening in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Progressive Music opened in 1947 and Helen was there on opening day. She...
Samantha Tranchida is very proud of her role at Quinlan and Fabish Music in the Chicago area as she assists young students in discovering the instrument they will play in school. The expe...
Jane Traum and her husband Happy, are the founders of Homespun Music, which for decades has offered a growing collection of musical instrument training classes. Happy began with a new cla...
Leanne Trevalyan was just twelve years old when she taught herself how to play the guitar using the Mel Bay method book on a no-name instrument her mother picked up at Montgomery Wards. L...
Mindi Turner is the Accounting & Office Manager at Tatum Music in Longview, Texas. She is a passion-driven music maker who landed her dream job. She played clarinet all throughout sch...
Sylvia Tyson wrote songs that a generation sang, and she also recorded songs by other songwriters which helped define the Folk Music revival of the 1960s. In 1962 she wrote “You Were On M...
Nancy Ubick is quick to point out that her mentor in business has been Mary Vandenberg, the pioneering Business Affairs executive for Hal Leonard. In fact it was Nancy who succeeded Mary...
Māhealani Uchiyama felt a passion for music and dance from a very young age and could see the importance of expressing yourself through the forms and how it often touches a part of your s...
Donna Ulisse has fond memories of her grandmother teaching her to sing at a young age. And that is all Donna wanted to do! As her career developed, she was encouraged by many in the music...
Jan Ulrich’s brother Kelly Patterson began working at H&H Music Services in 1987 as an intern. Jan was hired just three years later in the service department. She works closely with h...
Shae Usher was just a teenager when she was asked to help Chris Tucker arrange his birthday party. Chris requested that Usher perform (the artist, no relation to Shae) so she called Usher...
Mary Vandenberg started at Hal Leonard as the sole licensing administrator in the Milwaukee office and eventually became the Vice President of Business Affairs. In that role she dealt wi...
Nancy Vernon and her husband, Gene Monnig, own and operate Cadenza Music in St. Paul, Minnesota. Nancy is very active with the music teachers in and around the area and works hard to bui...
Michèle Vice-Maslin has always had a passion for music and songwriting. She grew up with her family in Queens, NY and started playing instruments and writing poetry at a young age. After ...
Tracy Vignati and her husband Fabrice formed a band together using a style they call Gypsybilly! They debuted their band, The Vignatis, in 2009. Tracy describes their style as a blend of ...
Women’s role in the music industry has progressively grown and developed over the years. When the NAMM Oral History program began, many of the women interviewed kept the books of their r...
Rosa Villa is the Lead Supervisor within the drumhead shipping department at Remo Inc. headquarters in Valencia, California Like many of her co-workers, Rosa has been working for the co...
Velia Villasenor-Telles grew up singing with her sister. Music was always a big part of her life, as she is related to the record producer Johnny Otis and the jazz composer and arranger G...
Linda Vincent worked for a short time at the NAMM headquarters, which is where she met her husband, the late John Vincent, who at the time was Director of Trade Shows. We missed our chanc...
Dee Vinton was known as Dancin’ Dee around the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music where she was a noted docent since the early 2000’s. Dee was fond of telling her tour groups that h...
Lauren Vogel Weiss was playing in the high school band but struggling to find the accessories she needed. This program gave her and her father, Harvey, an idea. Together they formed Lon...
Cordelia von Gymnich was born in Frankfurt, which is ironic considering that for so many members of the music product industry, she is Frankfurt! Her love of music began at an early age,...
Julie Wagnitz manages the school road reps for Heid Music in Wisconsin, supporting the team that interacts most with the local band directors. Her passion for music developed in large par...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Bea Wain was a singer with the big bands during the great s...
Robin Walenta attended the University of Northern Iowa and Middle Tennessee State University before joining West Music in 1982. She was named president/CEO of the company in 2007. Robin w...
Paula Walker began working in the music industry right out of high school for the Gemeinhart flute company in Elkhart, Indiana. In the early years she worked primarily on student instrum...
Morgan Walker worked in the marketing side of the sports industry before being hired by Korg USA, in 2014, to focus on public relations and managing special events. She grew in her positi...
Maureen Wall credits the dedicated teachers who provided her with private lessons for shaping her musical path. Starting piano at age six and moving on to double bass by sixth grade, Maur...
June Wang is very proud of her company, Pearl River. She is an outstanding spokesperson for the China-based piano manufacturer. In fact, it was Ms. Wang who assisted the NAMM Oral Histo...
