Jan Ulrich’s brother Kelly Patterson began working at H&H Music Services in 1987 as an intern. Jan was hired just three years later in the service department. She works closely with h...
Spike Klein thanks his sister and her love of Van Halen for bringing music into his life. Their father made guitars for them out of plywood but pretending to be musicians soon turned into...
Will Meyer grew up with a great appreciation for music, thanks to being exposed to styles such as Bluegrass by his parents. He played trumpet beginning in grade school and focused on sing...
Chaco Amazè fell in love with music at a young age, after all his father was a music teacher and his mother was a dancer of Mexican folklore music. His father introduced young Chaco to J...
Melissa Mandeville and her husband, Scott, own Tim’s Music, which is located in Carmichael, California, near Sacramento. The couple are strong advocates for music education and work to se...
Tim Shirk likes to say he is a Tim at Tim’s Music and not the Tim. While not the founder, Tim is the general manager of the Sacramento area store, which focuses on band and orchestra sale...
Jim Hart has two passions, music and animals! His love of music began for him in the 6th grade when he began playing drums for the school music program. In 1981, his family purchased a mu...
Kendra Peterson is the retail manager for Ward-Brodt Music in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. The store was established in 1927 and has built a strong reputation for service, particularly for schoo...
Ray Everitt recalls quite clearly buffing band instruments as a kid in the family’s store. The store was established in 1901 by a band director named Brook Mays, who played a key role in ...
Gale Mallory served as Band Director in Georgia and Alabama for over 38 years, making a real difference in the lives of thousands of students! She innovated several elements to the Marchi...
Melvin Quinones has a fascinating backstory as to how he established Victory Musical Instruments in Puerto Rico. It all began with his love and passion for making music, which started whe...
Debra Kolacny began playing the organ at the age of eight, not knowing a life of music was ahead of her. She joined her junior high school band as a percussionist and in high school focus...
David Kolacny has a remarkable family history steeped in bringing music to others. His grandfather took over a small music store in Denver in 1930 and since that time the store and its st...
Heath Mathews is the Senior Vice President of Content & Licensing for Peaksware Music, which includes MakeMusic and Alfred Music. Heath joined MakeMusic in 2007 with a focus on develo...
Kris Kjeldgaard finished her degree with a music major and a minor in business and went job seeking. She was not sure what the direction of her career would take and in fact, looking back...
Seth Strickland had a wonderful grade school music teacher who was a great inspiration for him. Seth played saxophone throughout high school and in the jazz band. He later performed in a ...
Pat Emmett has had a whirlwind of a musical career! He began playing trombone in junior high school and even took lessons while serving in the US Navy. After earning a degree at North Tex...
Dale Dawalt admits he knew little about band instruments being a guitarist when he first joined the team at San Diego County Music Exchange in 1990. He was however, eager to learn and he ...
Rafael Perez played a variety of instruments at an early age. He played saxophone in his school’s marching and jazz bands and with several local groups as a teenager. Right out of high sc...
John Bertand was not yet 15 years old when he began working in the music store his parents established in 1983 in San Bernardino, California. He remembers helping move glass display cases...
Dennis Hallmeyer has fond memories of his years playing mallet percussion in the school’s marching band, eventually progressing to the xylophone. Beginning in the 7thgrade Dennis took a k...
Jeff Bertrand is the president of the music company his parents started back in 1983. His father, John Sr., a former band director wanted to provide much-needed support and supplies to sc...
Dustin Barlow is the head instrument repair technician for Bertrand’s Music in San Marcos, California. He joined the store in 2006 and has since become the repair shop manager as well as ...
Mathew Schirado can tell you the first music store he ever entered. As a kid he went into Eckroth Music in Bismarck, North Dakota, with his parents when he first joined the school band. W...
Mike White grew up in the Boston area where he was inspired by his band directors. While studying music in college in New Mexico, Mike was focused on becoming a band director himself. He ...
Dan King was exposed to music at a young age. His brother played in band and as soon as he could, Dan himself began playing trumpet in his school band. He joined the US Marines and while ...
Johnna Meyer loves the look on the faces of young students when they make a sound for the first time with a musical instrument! Taking part in band night at the schools Meyer Music serves...
Ricia King as a child took piano lessons from the mother of future Yamaha Marketing Manager Roger Eaton (fun fact). Ricia has always loved music and because she grew up in her father’s Ka...
John Fulton has had a very interesting ascent to his position as Vice President of Sales for Conn-Selmer. He started taking violin lessons in the fourth grade, at first to get out of clas...
Mike Kamphuis is perfectly suited for his position as Vice President, Division of Education at Conn-Selmer in Elkhart, Indiana. His role allows him to work closely with educators and indu...
Wes Sutton has a background as a musician and a welder and wasn’t too sure about an opening at King Music Company in Brownwood, Texas, but he was looking for a change so he took a chance....
John Jarvis is the president and owner of the music retail store in Florida, Music Man. His father was a band director back in 1944 who retired to Florida in 1973 and opened a small store...
