Carl Fischer LLC

Marvin Blickenstaff had an indelible mark on countless music students of all ages over his long career. As an educator, he taught at the college level and provided thousands of workshops, clinics, and masterclasses on many aspects of music, especially in the field of pedagogy. As a method book author, Marvin teamed with Louise Bianchi and Lynn Freeman Olson to create the Music Pathways Series for Carl Fischer Music. The series was innovative and created the foundation for many of Marvin’s well-attended workshops.

Nat Clark worked for the York Band Instrument Company for over 40 years!  He was hired in New York in 1957 because his older brother was working for Carl Fischer, which owned York at the time.  Nat later moved to the factory in Michigan where he started on the bench buffing instruments.  He soon became a builder and before the end of the decade he was in management.  Nat knew everything there is to know about the plant and its products. Even in retirement he works on instruments in a small shop in his home.  More than anything else, what you need to know about Nat is, he loved is

Hayden Connor is very proud of his family’s long association with the Carl Fischer music publishing company in New York. His father and late brother were among the strong company leaders that helped establish the large catalog for which they are widely known. However, it was Hayden who masterfully guided the company into the global market and expanded the catalog to keep up with the ever-aggressive competition and technology-savvy customer needs. Hayden has been a strong supporter of RPMDA and other industry associations that provide services to music publishers as well as shee

John F. Edmunds began arranging music as a high school student, when he found that commercially available arrangements were not suitable for his band of non-standard instrumentation. After college and a stint as a US Navy bandsman, John became a college professor, first as assistant director of bands at the University of Texas and later at LSU in Baton Rouge, while arranging and composing for those schools’ bands. Among his most noted works are “Britannia” and “March of the Longhorns,” the latter composed originally for President Lyndon Johnson’s inaugural ceremony in 1965.

Walter Ehret was the music arrangers’ equivalent to Mel Blanc – the man with a thousand voices. Walter was the man with a thousand pseudonyms. Under his various names, he arranged for most of the major publishers over a career that spanned over 50 years. His work was mostly centered around choral music. He had a strong interest in bringing to light lost works and works of composers who had gone largely unnoticed. He was a pioneer in music publishing and a man with great talent.  His NAMM Oral History was completed on June 9, 2007.  Mr.

Sandy Feldstein played an important role in the publishing of music and method books on percussion. With a sharp understanding of the publishing business and music education, Sandy has been at the forefront of technology and marketing methods, which have had success around the world. As a composer, Sandy is well known in the percussion industry for clever and memorable works. Sandy is also the founder and president of Playin’ Time and has been very active in the growing field of recreational music making. Sandy has also played a vital role in the growth and development of the Perc

William Heese had a reputation like no other in the music publishing world, a reputation well deserved. Bill was not only a mainstay in the industry for over 40 years, he was a tireless promoter of the music publishing history. Bill played a vital role in several publishing associations including RPMDA, MPA, and even this oral history program for NAMM. He became a mentor and an inspiration for many who witness his example and hoped to follow in his footsteps.

Lauren Keiser  was a passionate music publisher. He worked with many of the top publishing companies over his long and distinguished career including Alfred, Cherry Lane, Carl Fischer and his own firm the Keiser Music Publishing Company. In 2012 he purchased Southern Music and renamed the company Keiser Southern Music, where he worked long and hard to create new products taking advantage of developments in technology. 

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

Maury Rhodes enjoyed a long career in the music industry with a focus on the music publishing side of the business. He oversaw the Chicago operation of the Carl Fischer Company before being hired by the Chicago area music retailer Quinlan &Fabish where he was placed in the customer service department as well as in the sheet music department for which he felt very much at home.  Maury was able to provide the NAMM Oral History Collection great insight into the Chicago music industry. 

Chris Scialfa developed his great love and passion for music at a very young age. By the time he was five years old Chris was taking classical piano lessons, which thanks to his understanding teacher, occasionally included works by Chris’ hero, Elton John! He began writing original music when he was 18, the year he joined his first rock band. While pursuing a successful career as a professional musician, Chris found a job at Carl Fischer Music Publishing in New York City in 1997. A few years later, Sandy Feldstein joined the company as President and took Chris under his wing.

Harold Winkler was raised in the music publishing industry.  His father, Max Winkler, worked his way up from stock boy at Carl Fischer to be president of famed Belwin Music Publishing Company in New York.  As a strong supporter of the emerging school music market following World War II, Harold became a founder of NASMD National Association of School Music Dealers.  In 1951 Winkler and his wife, Luverne, formed Harlu Music, a specialized school music retailer that would later venture out into school music publishing.