California

 David L. Abell formed his piano retail store in Beverly Hills back in the late 1950s.  Since that time he has established one of the finest reputations in our industry.  Noted musicians, industry leaders and movie stars alike have boasted of his quality of service and the fact that most of his deals have been based on a handshake.  David, however, is equally proud of the regular customers who may not be famous but are treated as if they were.  Back in the early 1960s, David L.

Gus Acevedo is the owner of the International House of Music in downtown Los Angeles, a store that first opened in 1902. Gus purchased the store from the Schireson Brothers and over the last thirty years he and his business partner, Oscar Naranjo, have focused a great deal of their energy and staff training on customer service. In recent years the store has seen an increase in Latino customers and has proudly been able to provide the highest level of service and products thanks to a dedicated sales staff.

Marty Albertson began working at the Guitar Center in San Francisco when the small chain’s founder, Wayne Mitchell, was still active in the business. Marty was there to see the store locations expand and grow and was very much a part of the executive branch of the company when it was first offered as a publicly-traded company. As Chairman of Guitar Center Marty is still active in the major decisions, but also finds time to serve on a number of music related organizations including on the board of the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation.

Rebecca Apodaca is the president of A&D Music in Southern California. Her father was an instrument repairman and so she grew up replacing strings and adjusting necks on guitars. Over the years she was trained on instrument repairs and expanded the services of her business to include appraising musical instruments. She was the first person certified as a “Personal Property –Musical Instrument” appraiser by the American Society of Appraisers in 2011.

Charlotte Atkinson is an organist extraordinaire! Showing an aptitude for music early on, Charlotte continued with formal education earning Bachelor and Masters degrees in music. At San Diego State University she first met her husband, William, in Howard Brubeck's theory class. In her junior year at SDSU she and William (Bill) were married and spent the next several decades touring as the Atkinson Duo with Charlotte on piano, organ and harpsichord and Bill on flute and choir directing. They were organist and music directors of several churches and were actively involved in many service and musical organizations. They were mostly involved locally with the Army and Navy Academy in Carlsbad and the First Presbyterian Church in Oceanside.

Sterling Ball’s great-grandfather was a successful songwriter in the golden era of Tin Pan Alley and wrote a series of hits such as “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” and "Mother Machree” His father was Ernie Ball, the innovator and musician who revolutionized the music industry with his strings and in standardizing string gauges. Sterling expanded on his father’s company by bringing in the Music Man brand and in designing a new series of guitars and products beginning in the 1970s. Sterling has not slowed down since. Among his many contributions to the industry was when he served on the NAMM Board and created programs to encourage players of all ages to pick up an instrument and have fun.

Kyle Barker began working in the piano retail industry in 1969 when the Sherman & Clay Piano Company in Northern California hired him. Five years later he established Barker Music in Modesto, where he would later expand the line to include guitars and percussion. Kyle also opened a second store in Stockton, CA. Like many music retailers, Kyle remains a very active musician, playing keyboards and singing both in a group and solo work in the community. His passion for music remains evident to anyone who walks in the store. 

John Bertrand has thoroughly enjoyed bringing music to the lives of young students. As a band director in the early part of his career he taught and encouraged children at nearly every grade level. As music retailer (he opened his first store in 1983) John has played a vital role in promoting and supporting school music programs by working with teachers and parents alike. John’s passion for music has also led to several programs that have raised money for school music programs as well as for purchasing instruments for those who could not afford the cost but who want to make music. 

Lyle Bird grew up in a musical family with his mother playing the piano daily. As a teenager he played trumpet in several swing bands during the big band era including with such leaders as Henry Busse. He played in a band during his navy service during World War II and again played in several small bands after the war before being hired by the Sherman Clay Company. Lyle sold saxophones for a short time, long enough he would say in order to realize he wanted to sell pianos. He managed a Sherman Clay location in Walnut Creek, CA and trained on selling organs direct to the customers in their homes and was the first to bring stand-up organ players to the front of mall stores as a drive for customers.

Gary Burgett and his brother Kirk established PianoDisc out of their piano retail store in Sacramento, California in the late 1970s. Gary was a pianist and music teacher with a successful studio of his own, and Kirk was a skilled piano technician and rebuilder. The store, Burgett Pianos, sold a product called the Pianocorder, a cassette-driven player system that could be added to any piano, which eventually increased in sales over the years. The brothers brought together a team to create their own product once the Pianocorder was taken off the market. In 1988 they sold the first of many PianoDisc units, which brought new customers and attention to the digital age of the player piano.