Lauren Wallace was hired by the Baldwin Piano retail store in Cincinnati in 1997 as a salesperson. She had played piano as a young girl and took up playing again when her son was taking ...
Dick Waldron came to music in a most unusual way. His father was a house painter who completed a job only to find out the house owner did not have enough money to pay so he offered a cor...
Tadashi (Sunny) Umekage is an executive within the Japan Music Industry who has been a strong supporter of NAMM and several of the organization’s programs including the NAMM Oral History ...
Russell Thomas was a band director for over 34 years. During his teaching years he often felt frustrated that simple repairs would take weeks and often delay concerts or rehearsals. A l...
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 ...
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...
Gerald Stanley is without question one of the pioneers in pro audio, working as product engineer for Crown International for several decades. Over 45 patents have been issued to him over...
Jack Simpson worked for RCA for nearly 40 years beginning at the time when the electronics and recording company was a regular exhibitor at the NAMM Trade Shows. Jack also became a jazz ...
John Simpkinson had a strong background in advertising when he was hired by the Baldwin Piano Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bob Cosgrove and James Mixter hired John for company and produc...
Jack Shallat was a professional violin player who landed several gigs with traveling bands in the 1930s and 40s. During that time he met Buddy Rogers and both men opened separate music s...
Brian Schmidt opened up a small piano and organ retail store in Calgary, Canada, in 1973 with a strong focus on the Baldwin Products. He was just 21 years old at the time and benefited g...
Sally Schiff and her husband Mel moved from New York to Florida where they decided to open their own music retail business. All County Music in Tamarac, Florida first opened in 1976 with...
Mel Schiff and his wife Sally established All County Music in Tamarac, Florida. The first store opened in 1976 with a strong focus on band and orchestra music and repair. However, Mel’s...
Bob Saunders began working in the accounting department for Kaman Corporation. He was asked by the company’s founder, Charlie, to work with his son Bill for the Kaman Music Corporation. ...
Eric Satterlee founded Meridian Winds in 1984, in Lansing, Michigan. The store specializes in wind instruments and has a very innovative repair shop. In fact, the repair shop is the bir...
Bob Rissi was the founder of Risson Amplifier Company, which produces Made-in-America products based on Bob’s own designs. He began designing amplifiers in 1960 when he was hired by Leo ...
Allen Riley served as the district sales manager for the Baldwin Piano Company. Allen learned guitar as a child and continues to play music. He became a Minister for several years befor...
Craig Richard is a professional saxophonist who has played with the likes of Kenny G and was hired by Bobby Dukoff Mouthpiece Company’s president, Nic Hernandez, as product specialist. W...
James Reeder is the piano technician who formed James Reeder Piano in Lansing, Michigan, as both a repair and retail business. With a strong background in the restoration of pianos, Jim ...
Elmer Reeder and his brother purchased a sawmill outside of Lansing, Michigan, right after World War II. It was during that time that Elmer became an expert in wood, an important part of...
Larry Ramirez had a fascinating career in music! As a trumpet player he landed his dream job designing instruments for many of his childhood heroes! While working for Leblanc, Larry was a...
Ramon Portal moved from Cuba to the United States in 1962 and heard of an inventory job at Guild Guitar and, as he often has said, his American dream came true. Ramon worked his way up w...
Brian Nunney was born in Cheltenham, England, and served in the Royal Air Force for four years before he was hired by the Littlewoods Department store. The company purchased a small musi...
Robert Neu grew up in the Cincinnati area and went to work for Baldwin Piano Company on August 2, 1946, right after World War II. In fact, Bob started out as a time keeper to keep track o...
Maudie Moore was hired by Gibson Guitars in 1962 to do small piece work and soon branched out to engraving, which became a specialty for her over the next several decades. In fact, she o...
Clyde Moore is the son of the founder of Crown International, an innovative sound system and pro audio company in Elkhart, Indiana for which Clyde once served as president. Over the year...
John Meyer founded Meyer Sound Laboratory back in 1979 and soon became an important pioneer and innovator in sound reinforcement. He worked to establish a balance in the sound created by...
Bill Mathews is the Executive Director of the National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians (NAPBIRT). In that role Bill has expanded the organization’s meaning...
Mari Mach spent nearly 40 years in the music industry in and around Elkhart, Indiana. She began her career in the sales department working for C. G. Conn for four years before being offer...
Denny Lawson began learning and playing instrumental music while in college. He soon found he had a great interest in playing music and switched his major to music education. While he w...
