Baldwin Piano Company

Don Broman worked long and hard in the music products industry, striving to create quality products and dependable customer service to dealers around the world. When he joined the Lyon & Healy company in 1937 the country was in the midst of the Great Depression, yet Don worked hard with the staff to keep the company above water. As he had said, “we stayed until the job was done.” He stayed 38 years until Baldwin Piano Company offered him a job as Vice President in 1975. Don remained at Baldwin until his retirement in 1984.
 

Dave Brubeck has played Baldwin Pianos for most of his long career. As a classically trained performer, he added poly-rhythmic concepts to jazz. Among his most celebrated recordings is the world famous “Take Five.” While he never caught the teaching bug, he has been greatly influential on countless performers and musical professors who have been inspired by his blend of the classical techniques and the feel of jazz. Mr. Brubeck has come to symbolize the high art of music and has thus given jazz a great deal of its needed respect. As a supporter of musical education, he has appeared and performed for musical causes around the world.

Dick Christian has spent his entire career in the piano and organ business and has made many friends along the way. His support for the industry led him to the role as president of the National Piano Travelers Association. Having worked retail before joining the teams of Thomas, Baldwin, Wurlitzer and Samick, Dick has a great understanding of the role a salesman can fill for both supplier and dealer and works to help both from his position.  

Jim Coleman recalls watching his father, a true traveling music man, tune a piano when Jim was just a boy. He not only went on to make a career of tuning, but set standards for testing tuners for the Piano Technician’s Guild. Over his long career, Jim owned and operated his own music store in Arizona where he began teaching the fine craft of piano tuning. For a while Jim worked for Conn and Baldwin but found his greatest interest was in the developing world of electronic piano tuning tools. Along with his long time friend, Al Sanderson (also interviewed for his collection), the two men became the leading experts and inventors in electronic tuning devices.
 

Robert C. Cosgrove was hired by the Baldwin Piano Company following World War II and later worked his way up to vice president. He witnessed the re-building of the production line, which during the war was used to assemble wooden gliders. Bob also took part in what he described as a historic meeting of the piano giants when in the 1950s he served on the AMC Board along with Henry Steinway of Steinway & Sons. Bob was told at the time that it was the first time the two competing companies worked together. In the early 1960s Bob was sales manager for the piano company before becoming Vice President of Sales in the 1970s.  Bob passed away in 2010 at the age of 100.

Ken Edgington has many friends in the music industry, several of whom suggested he be included in the NAMM Oral History program, but when approached Ken was rather humble about his role in the music business, “are you sure you have the right guy?” Ken worked for the Baldwin Piano Company in Ohio during the home organ boom and into the final days of the company. He has since been active as the manager of Viscount Church Organs in Montana. His interview provided a meaningful account of the changes in the piano and organ business as well as the development of newer markets.

G. Frank Emerson is a piano designer whose roots are firmly based in piano technician training and experiences he was involved with in the early part of his career. He became a well respected piano designer for the Baldwin Piano Company in the 1970s while continuing to support the Piano Technicians Guild, for which he has often provided educational presentations. Frank was hired by Hailun Piano Company, based in China, and has since worked with the factories to implement the craftsmanship needed to build the instruments he has designed. He was awarded the Friendship Medal, China’s highest honor to foreign experts.

Rodney Ethridge was the plant manager for the Baldwin Piano factory in Greenwood, Mississippi beginning in the early 1970s. He began working in the engineering department and rose to manager, overseeing several departments within the plant. The plant was considered by many in the industry to be a model for efficiency and top quality products during the 1970s and into the 1980s. With a management change that would see the company up for sale in the 1990s, the Greenwood plant was closed, however Rodney and his team left a mark of well-respected craftsmanship that is admired today. 

Ernesto Gittli was born in Uruguay and moved to the U.S. as a small boy before he began taking piano lessons. He met his wife, who also taught music, and together they envisioned a music school that would encourage all ages to become music makers. Gittli Music opened in the mid- 1960s with a strong focus on providing parents with an education regarding why music is important to their child long before “music makes you smarter” was ever a slogan.

Gary Grimes played a very vital role in the early part of his career, working in the music education department at Wurlitzer. Gary wrote many of the training programs for Wurlitzer as well as music education materials that were provided to customers. He served as Vice President of Marketing with Wurlitzer, Executive Vice President for the Baldwin Piano Company, President of Lowrey Organs and President of the National Piano Manufacturers Association. Gary enjoyed the piano industry so much that he set off to establish his own retail store.