Herbert Volkmann like so many of his generation saw the horrors of war while growing up in Germany before and during World War II. Herbert and other musical instrument makers moved to Bub...
Chuck Turk has been active in the music industry in both manufacturing and in retailing. In fact his experiences have included working with small independent retailers as well as large ch...
Wolfgang Teller joined the family musical instrument making business in 1980. His grandfather, Oskar, formed a small shop in 1928 and his father, Horst, joined him in 1949. When Wolfgang ...
Horst Teller was the son of Oskar Teller, who formed a small workshop in 1929 in Schonbach to make musical instruments. After World War II, the company was rebuilt in Bubenreuth in 1949 a...
Burkhard Stein grew up in a music retail family, which focused on selling pianos in Marburg, Germany. After school he wanted to learn about the manufacturing of pianos and began working f...
Tabor Stamper was a band director before joining the manufacturing side of the industry for which he has a true passion. During his NAMM Oral History interview, conducted in March 2011, T...
Myrna Sislen is a professional musician who took advantage of the opportunity to purchase a struggling music store and bring it back to being an active and beloved part of the neighborhoo...
Ulrich Sauter grew up in the middle of the Sauter Piano Company, as his great grandfather formed the factory in Spaichingen, Germany. In fact his family lived in a small house surrounded ...
Mitchel Banks has been working in the music store his father established as far back as he can remember. After serving as a band director, Don Banks formed his retail store in Tampa in 1...
Ernst Roth is a guitar luthier who over the last 40 years of his career has dedicated himself to training younger craftsman in the art of violin and guitar making. He was born in the musi...
Dieter Roesberg made his mark as a rock musician in Germany during the 1970s, 80s and 90s, being part of several bands that scored hits on the charts. He kept a day job, a writer for Gita...
David Reid is a guitar luthier who not only designs, builds and repairs guitars, he also teaches the art of instrument making. Located in London, David designs and builds both acoustic an...
Steve Rauch began his career in the music publishing business in the early 1960s. While working for several leaders in the industry, Steve developed his skills and knowledge that he would...
Nick Rail is the president and founder of the retail string of stores in Southern California with his namesake that began in 1986. Nick began his career as a band instrument repairman for...
Kenny O’Brien is the president of Music & Arts, a retail store chain that his father, Ken O’Brian, established. Kenny oversees the stores, which focuses on school music and print and ...
Frantisek Nemecek was born and raised in Czechoslovakia where he studied advertising and helped the more than 70 instrument makers in the area to sell their products. Frantisek began by e...
Sara Michaelson grew up in the music store her father, Frank Hessy, established in Liverpool, England in the late 1950s. Hessy’s Music was THE store in town to find all of the local bands...
Bernard Michaelson was just a teenager when he began working for Frank Hessy. Hessy’s Music store in Liverpool was the hangout for all of the young musicians in the area at a time when ba...
Joel Menchey is the president of Menchey Music Service, a Hanover, Pennsylvania, based retail store established by his grandfather in 1936. Joel has been very active within the industry s...
Morty Manus and his lovely wife Iris were the driving force behind the Alfred Music Publishing Company for over 50 years, when their sons took over the operations of the company. During t...
Kurt Lutz was a well-regarded German luthier who, along with many other instrument makers, settled in Bubenreuth, Germany following World War II. Mr. Lutz provided a first-hand account of...
Alfred Loib was a banker in Germany before he opened a small music store and fell in love with the industry. His passion for playing music was equaled by helping other musicians find the ...
Jack K. Lewis served as President and COO for the Conn Organ Company after years of serving as it's Manager of Marketing Administration, General Sales Manager, Director of Marketing and S...
Tony Leonard is the president of Playground Music, a Florida-based music store his father established in 1961. With a strong focus on school music and print, Tony has continued with many ...
Uli Kurtinat loved playing the guitar and wanted to be a rock star! He later worked for the Hoyer Guitar Company and began making his own guitars as well as working in retail stores as a ...
Bob Kranendonk sang for the choral group, the Pennsylvanians led by Fred Waring. Bob’s father also sang for the group and in fact together both men had a hit and appeared on the cover of ...
Dirk Kommer grew up close to Hohner, where he began his industry career as an apprentice in 1956. Over the years his dedication and passion for the products resulted in advances in duties...
Christoph Kemper blended his love of music with his love of computer programming as early as 1986 when he put his Commodore 64 to use coding for musical sounds. Kemper formed Access Music...
Ed Hendricks always enjoyed selling. After serving heroically in World War II, he worked in several Chicago-area department stores before being hired by Don Broman to work for Lyon & ...
Walter Hoyer took over the guitar production shop that his great grandfather had started and for which his father, Arnold Hoyer, made famous during the late 1940s and 50s. Arnold passed a...
