Bob Berkman has a passion about the player piano and the player piano rolls. Bob's grandparents had a player piano when he was a child and he grew up fascinated by the instrument. Once ...
Cecilia Rodrigo is the only daughter of famed Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo. In addition to her colorful life growing up in such a musical home, Cecilia’s passion for music led her to...
Zafar Geoffrey grew up in Sialkot Pakistan, the home base for his family’s music company. His grandfather established the company in 1912 with a focus on providing high quality bagpipes ...
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,...
Michael Thomas grew up in Los Angles where he took to music at an early age. He formed a swing band and became a professional musician. Along the way he began making his own valve oil a...
Kate Riessland was born in England in the years following World War II and soon found she had an interest in learning all she could about the German culture. While in Germany, in 1969, s...
Ivan Peykov grew up in the music business as his father formed a company to make traditional Bulgarian instruments. After attending college with a focus on engineering, Ivan returned to ...
Bonka Peykov has a great deal of respect for the process of making high quality musical instruments. When she joined her husband’s family business, she worked long and hard to learn each...
Matanya Ophee was born in Jerusalem at the time when it was Palestine. He began playing guitar as a young boy and continued to play it as a hobby while he trained to be an airplane pilot...
Franz Moser is a student of instrument acoustics as well as a double bass player who often asked himself, “What conditions need to be fulfilled for a stringed instrument to immediately re...
Claudio Formisano grew up in Naples in a musical family where at a young age his three brothers convinced Claudio to play drums to complete their Beatle-like band! When he was 12 years o...
Ahmet Ediz grew up in Turkey and began playing the violin at an early age. He became a professional concert musician and traveled with several orchestras. Along the way he noticed a nee...
Sorriso dos Santos grew up in Brazil and began playing the drums when he was 16 years old. He has been playing ever since! His nickname in Portuguese is Sorriso, which means smile-- a g...
Riccardo Clerici is the grandson of Cosimo Pomarico, the classically trained clarinetist who in 1960 began making his own unique mouthpieces. Mr. Pomarico developed a crystal mouthpiece,...
Giorgio Clerici is the son-in-law of Cosimo Pomarico, the classically trained clarinetist who in 1960 began making his own unique mouthpieces. Mr. Pomarico developed a crystal mouthpiece...
Bulent Akbay was born in Istanbul and was interested in playing the drums at an early age. He played throughout school and like other drummers in the area he was always looking for a pla...
Harry West was the founder of Fine Musical Instruments located in Statesville, North Carolina. The store was an early pioneer in vintage stringed instrument sales and in fact, Stanley Ja...
Guy Ward was the president of the Ward Piano Company, located in Canton, North Carolina, from the 1940s until his retirement. After his daughter and son took over the company, he continu...
Mark Thomas was a noted flute player who toured the world and recorded several albums during his long career. As a product endorser, Mark appeared in several printed ads over the years a...
George Shuffler was the country and bluegrass guitar player who is credited for a three figure cross-picking playing style (down two strings, up one) that he created out of necessity.
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Lee Moyer began working for Marty's Music in the late 1960s. When the founder was ready to retire in 1971, Lee and his partner bought the business. They decided to keep the name and to ...
Malcolm McFadyen served as president of the family music store just as his father and grandfather did before him. Malcolm worked with his father to establish many of the procedures for t...
Bill McFadyen grew up in the music business and followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, father and older brother in running the McFadyen Music stores. Bill took on the role of mana...
Charles Lawson played church organ from boyhood all the way into his 90s. He was hired by a small piano store when he first moved to Bristol, Tennessee, from Knoxville to be close to his ...
Dennis Howren is the president of the Howren Music Store in Charlotte, North Carolina. The store was founded by his father and was run by his two older brothers before Dennis took over a...
Marion Holloway is the president of Holloway Music in Monroe, North Carolina. The store was established by his grandfather in 1912 and run for many years by his father, who served as a m...
John Dee Holeman was an influential blues performer known as the last surviving original musician who popularized the Piedmont Blues style. The finger-picking guitar style was also known...
Randy "Baja" Fletcher was a well respected production manager of live events who won the 2010 Parnelli Life Time Achievement Award for his dedication to the industry. His long and passio...
Thomas Broido recalls being carried by his father as he walked in the music publishers’ warehouses to check on business. He remembers the smell of the ink and the smiles that would greet...
Tut Taylor was a world renowned Dobro player, but did you know he partnered with George Gruhn and the two hired Randy Wood to form a music store in Nashville? Gruhn Guitars began as GTR,...
