Band and Orchestra

Don Mozingo was a teacher in a small schoolhouse for over 20 years and among the topics he taught was music.  His love and passion for music can be traced to his parents and, as a child, Don began teaching himself to play every musical instrument.  While teaching, he began repairing instruments for his students, which transitioned into opening and operating his own music store in and around St. Louis.  At one point he had three Mozingo Music locations, during which time his two sons joined the business and have been running since Don's retirement.

John Musselman enjoyed a long and successful career in the music industry with Selmer, Leblanc and American Way. His zeal for the industry and understanding of international markets proved to be a key factor in the growth of the companies he was involved with over the years. Along the way he established many friends within the industry, remarking in his interview that “I can’t imagine being in any other industry but this one.” The advice and ideas John offered to this interview program over the years havebeen greatly appreciated. 

Jerry Myers is a bell maker for the Conn-Selmer Company in Elkhart, Indiana.  Like so many of his co-workers within the factory, Jerry was trained on the job by those who came before him and over time Jerry found himself training some of the newer employees in much the same way.  Jerry began working in the music industry with Selmer in the 1970s and remained with the company in the early 2000s when it merged with its biggest competitor, CG Conn.

Mike Neely is a supervisor on the plant floor for the Conn-Selmer factory in Elkhart, Indiana, the very factory he began working in nearly 40 years before.  He began working in the music industry with Selmer in the 1970s and remained with the company in the early 2000s when it merged with its biggest competitor, CG Conn.  Mike enjoys working with other people and working together to solve problems and improve the process.

Bert Neidhardt was one of the leading experts on musical instrument importing and exporting. As president of German American Trading, he established trade policies and relationships on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Bert told the stories of the German market before, during and after the Berlin Wall and how export policies changed over the years. His long history within, and understanding of, the music products industry has made him an important resource to the NAMM library and this Oral History project.  Bert passed away in 2018 at the age of 86. 

Sammy Nestico has revolutionized the band and orchestra repertoire by composing and arranging top jazz charts for all levels of bands. As a result, this arranger of Count Basie’s band in the 1950s is known as well to music fans in their 80s as he is to beginning music students in elementary school. Along the way Sammy has delighted music fans with a clear and understandable sound that focuses on strength of the melody rather than overpowering high notes and speed.

Larry Noto’s father, Joe, opened Music Land in 1971. Back then Joe wanted to create a store that would provide instruments and repairs to both the gigging musician and students. Larry grew up in the store and has memories of playing in the empty boxes as a child, but he didn’t work in the store until much later. In fact, after graduation he worked for the aquarium in Baltimore with a focus on the tourism industry. When Joe passed away in 2015, Larry and his mother realized too many people, employees and customers depended on the store so they wanted to work together to keep the st

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 has locations in 18 states including Arizona to Delaware to Ohio and Texas. Kenny is proud that he continues, as his father did, to keep up with his knowledge of the business by actively participating in educational programs such as those offered by NASMD and the NAMM Idea Center as well as other industry organizations.  

Hiroo Okabe is the Director and Managing Executive Officer of Yamaha’s Musical Instrument Business Group. During his NAMM Oral History interview he provided the history of how Mr. Torakusu Yamaha began his career in the music industry by first repairing a reed organ and later, in 1900, introduced his first grand piano. Mr. Okabe spoke of the development of Yamaha’s production of the pianos and how it allowed the research of other instruments during the 1960s and 70s. The changes in automated production of instruments at Yamaha was also explained by Mr. Okabe, as well as the variou

Charlie Ollmann is the co-founder (with his wife) of the retail shop Music Connection in Minnesota.  They both taught music and had an opportunity to open their own store, with lesson rooms, and they jumped at the chance.  Music Connection was born in 1981.  The company is located in Forest Lake, Minnesota, where the company established itself as a local musical hub for professionals as well as beginners.  Throughout the three decades of business, Charlie is as passionate about music lessons as ever and is proud of the service the store is able to provide its customers.

Mike Olsen has worked in the very shop his grandfather established right after World War II to make parts for band instrument makers in and around his hometown of Elkhorn, Wisconsin.  At one point, after Mike joined the company full time after high school, three generations were working together.  Even after his grandfather retired, Mike worked with his father for many years.

Alessandro Onerati and his brother, Christiano, run the music store with their family name in Florence, Italy. The Onerati workshop was established in Florence in 1980, specializing in wind and percussion instrument repair, and soon becoming a central location for professional musicians and teachers alike. In their workshop, where instruments from all over the world can be found, customers are allowed to test the instruments on display, including a small collection of historical instruments.

Cristiano Onerati remembers working closely with his father to learn the finer points of repairing musical instruments.  He enjoyed the experience and wanted to make sure repairs remained a part of his daily routine in the family music store even after he and his brother took over upon their father's retirement.  Those key musical instrument lessons have stayed with Cristiano throughout his career and have applied to his view on the business side of his job as he has never lost focus on the important of a good sounding and reliable instrument.

Marsha Orwig serves as the dynamic and tech-savvy CIO of Quinlan & Fabish Music in Illinois, a renowned and respected chain of music stores she first joined as an eager intern back in 1988. Though her father was a well known band director, Marsha charted her own path—one rooted not in education, but in her deep appreciation for the music industry. While studying music business at Truman State University in Missouri, she was awarded a prestigious NAMM scholarship, an experience she credits with shaping her professional journey.

Walt Ostermeyer had a solution to the complaint of millions of school age music students who came into his music retail store, the wood reed tastes yucky. Walt designed a series of reeds with a variety of flavors such as cherry and watermelon. The idea caught on and he soon established the Flavor Reed Company in addition to his music retail store, which is where he heard the original complaints.  

Tom Ostrander was the founder of Colonial Music in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Now a string of stores, the retail company began with the simple idea of providing top quality instruments to the area school programs. He was born in Phoneton, Ohio, which is in Miami County, and was encouraged to play music by his parents. He played in the school bands and sought to become a music director. Along the way, he developed an understanding of what school directors needed and what they didn’t need. Tom thought he could put that knowledge to work while still being close to music education.

Tom Ott began training in the tool and die business right after high school at which point he was hired by the CG Conn Company in Elkhart, Indiana to work in the factory.  Tom has been there ever since!  Tom’s work has been focused on making jigs, dies and machine tools for the process of musical instrument building and assembly.  Along the way he has also designed dies for the company and been involved with creating workflows to improve the speed of the process and the quality of the products.

Chip Owen was the product specialist at Fox Bassoons who helped engineer a series of instruments for Fox over the years including the Fox Model 900 Contrabassoon, which was first introduced in 1971. Chip supervised the development of many of the Fox products since that time and has played a key role in the advancement of instrument repair technicians as a result of his long-time involvement with NAPBIRT. In fact, over the years Chip has presented countless sessions at the NAPBIRT annual meetings on a wide range of bassoon-related topics.

Rob Palmer served as president of UMI (United Musical Instruments) in the final years of the company before the brands it manufactured were sold to other companies. UMI played an important role in the transition of several products in Elkhart, Indiana, during the 1990s and early into 2000. At the time Rob was interviewed in 2002, UMI was producing the Armstrong flute line and the CG Conn line of products, among others. Although Rob later left the industry, he remains close friends with those he worked with during a very historic period in the band and orchestra instrument industry

Frank Pampenella is the owner and president of PM Music Center in Aurora, IL and has worked in the music industry for over 30 years. He founded PM Music Center in 1982, when he transitioned his successful wedding consulting agency, and lesson studio into a full-service music center specializing in band and orchestra instruments. Under Frank's leadership PM has grown from a basement location to one of the largest band and orchestra dealers in the highly competitive Chicago region. Despite the company's consistent growth, PM has maintained its focus of providing friendly customer se

Gary Panton grew up in Niagara, New York, and played the drums and vibes in high school. It was there that he started his first band, a jazz trio. In 1970 he was hired by Dick Crino in Dunkirk, New York, to work in his small music store. While Gary started on the sales floor, he soon followed Dick’s lead to serve the local school band directors as a school road rep. He even gave drum lessons in the store before going to college at Fredonia School of Music. The somewhat unique focus of the school was teaching musicians how to teach music rather than concentrating on performance deg

Karl Pasch purchased the music store that his father established in Anchorage, Alaska, with the goal of continuing the tradition of providing music products for his community while also following his own path as a musician and composer.  Karl got the music bug back before he can remember.  He grew up around music and the store,so it seemed natural for him to take up the trumpet.

Kurt Pasch is the founder of the Music Man retail store in Anchorage, Alaska.  Growing up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Kurt was surrounded by music and in fact played in more Polka Bands than most people have seen.  His passion for playing was only equaled by his love of teaching music.  After earning his degree he taught music and at first thought high school was his calling,  until he took a job in Alaska in a junior high school.  He loved the role he was providing but soon discovered the need for new instruments and a good repairman to fix the old instruments many of the children r

Leon Pascucci grew up in the music industry as his father was the president of Leblanc in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Leon remembers well the times he spent with Mr. Leblanc in France and the many company workers he felt were part of his family. Leon’s father Vito slowly exposed Leon to all areas of the business and asked Leon to take over the company upon his retirement. In addition to his many activities with the company, Leon played a key role in supporting NASMD and NAMM. He served on the NAMM Board as well as on the first board for the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in 1999

Vito Pascucci was assigned to band instrument repair during World War II for Glenn Miller’s Army Air Force Band. Although Miller was much older, the world-famous bandleader and Vito became fast friends and, in fact, outlined a plan to establish a chain of music retail stores after the war. Miller’s disappearance in 1944 ended that dream, and Vito took some time after the war to study musical instruments while still in France. He met Leon Leblanc and within a few years opened the American branch of G. Leblanc. The tremendous success of the company and its strong and innovative prod

Francesco Passera's journey in music began with a lifelong passion. While his sister pursued guitar and piano performance, Francesco's path led him to business school and a career outside of music for 20 years. However, his love of music never waned, leading him back to the industry. In 2021, Francesco met Mr.

Phil Passin began working for Carl Fischer in 1947 in the shipping department, where he took a deep interest in the industry.  After serving in the US Army during the Korean War, Phil returned to Carl Fischer where he began working his way up in the company.  When the company sold its interest in band instruments to focus on print, Phil opened Micro Musical Products to represent the band and orchestra instruments he had come to know and love.  Phil worked with Sam Ash and Sam’s sons over the years, which is a very interesting when you consider Ben Ash conducted this interview for

Jim Paulsen's father opened a small music store in Kenosha to focus on his instrument of choice, the accordion.  When young Jim encouraged his father to expand into guitars, they started off slow, but soon began to grow.  The Music Center today is a well-established retailer that covers the combo and school markets and includes both lessons and repairs.  The family feeling within the store that Jim's father created continues with family members as well as long time employees who are treated as members of Jim's family!

Curtis Pearson served proudly during World War II and, upon returning to the United States, was told of a sales job at the Poole Music Company. After several successful years and getting the bug to sell, Curtis formed the first of seven music stores in North Carolina called Pearson's Music. The store became the top-grossing Wurlitzer dealer in the area and was able to build up the band and orchestra department thanks to Curtis’ determination to provide full service to the schools he visited. His store was also very strong in the church organ business and piano sales. 

Scott Peck is the President of Pecknel Music Company, the music store in Greenville, South Carolina that was formed by his grandfather.  Scott grew up in the business, cleaning floors and learning the ropes from his father and other mentors such as his father-in-law, T. Warren Brown.  Over the years Scott has become a leader in the school band retail industry with a great passion for making the arts a priority in our society and in the education of our children.  Scott has been a great supporter of our industry over his career including the NAMM Oral History program.

Nick Peck’s entire face lights up whenever he talks about a great school music program! The son of a band director, the passion seems to be in his blood. After taking over the store his father started in Greenville, South Carolina, Nick joined the NAMM board in 1969. He rose to the top becoming President at a very important time in the industry. He stated, “During that time, we had changes both in and outside of NAMM. It was hard work, but very rewarding.” His first NAMM Oral History interview was completed on May 6, 2003. 

Nick Peck reflects on 50 years of NASMD