George Reeder
Oral History Information
George Reeder and his wife, Lynn, are the owners of Rovner Products, which produces ligatures, mouthpieces and other accessories for musical instruments. The company was established in the 1970s when Phil Rovner, a mechanical engineer and musician, set out to redesign the ligature for his saxophone. The ligature is the device that attaches the reed to the mouthpiece in a way that allows the reed to vibrate. Phil’s idea was to use a textile strap for his ligature, which has since been used by students and professional musicians alike. George worked briefly with Phil in the early 1990’s, and in 2008 Phil engaged him to assist with new product development and marketing. The couple purchased Rovner Products in 2014 and they take pride in the relationships they have built with music retailers as well as music educators.In 2020, when shut down during the pandemic, George and Lynn designed a face shield to help alleviate the local shortage of PPE. With the help of a volunteer network, they produced 3000 shields which were donated to the medical community and small businesses in the spirit of giving back.