Digital Pianos

Michael Aguilar played instruments both in and out of his school music programs growing up, which proved to be a wonderful background later in his career. After nearly five years in the retail end of consumer electronics, Michael became National Sales Manager for the tape recorder division at Panasonic in 1972. The company, wanting to branch into the musical instrument business, formed Technics in 1979. Three years later Michael was hired to lead the company, which took off during the early days of digital instruments.

Chick Corea loved being a music maker! Nominated over 60 times for a Grammy, Chick was among the most high profile musicians we have been blessed to interview for the NAMM Oral History program, and yet he was also one of the most down to earth men we have ever met. Around the time of his two NAMM interviews (2016 and 2018), Chick created tools on the internet that he hoped would inspire musicians and bring out the very passion that kept him excited about making music his entire life. The results of his efforts are available in a series of podcasts and master classes on his website

Sergey Kupriyanov is the president of a retail and wholesale company in Russia.  In fact, Sergey was the first current music retailer from Russia to be included in the NAMM Oral History collection when he was interviewed in 2015.  His interview included his own background as well as a nice overview of the Russian music retailer and how dealers in the country have changed in recent years.  He also operates a wholesale business for musical instruments and accessories in the country as well, making his views on the industry very interesting and important.

Enrico Monaci loved to hear the stories of his uncle, who started the ORLA Company to make parts for accordions.  The company expanded over the years and Enrico grew up helping in every element of the business.  During the 1950s they began making reed organs and within a decade the company created electronic keyboards.  Along the way they built parts or full instruments for such companies as Hohner, Baldwin, Hammond, and Wurlitzer.  In the 1980s ORLA even made a special brand of Estey Organs for the Fletcher Music Centers.  The company continues to be active in digital pianos arou