Athan Billias had a rather impressive vantage point to witness the growth and development of the synthesizer in the late 1970s and early 80s. After performing as a professional musician i...
Ted Burger, president of Hanser Music Group, epitomizes a harmonious blend of passion, expertise and dedication. Hailing from Fairport, New York, Ted's musical odyssey began at the tender...
Leslie Buttonow has dedicated her career to the marketing and promotion of several iconic brands in the music industry. She has worked hard to develop new programs and campaigns to bring ...
Rober Castle is currently the managing director of KORG UK, having been tied to the company in one way or another since 1981. In his early days with the company, Rob played a role on the ...
Joe Castronovo began working for Unicord in the months before the company was sold and became KORG USA. With a solid team, which included the late Mike Kovins, under the leadership of KOR...
Mike Daws moved to Melbourne from England in 1974 where his brother-in-law, a drummer, introduced him to Billy Hyde. Billy was a well-known drummer who helped his son, Garry, run a succes...
Doug Beck was hired in the keyboard department at Manny’s Music on the famous 48th street in New York City. The street was lined with musical instrument stores and while Doug worked there...
Michael Doyle was traveling with a band when he had an opportunity to tour the Marshall factory. It was an eye opening and fortuitous experience. Several years later he was offered a job ...
Ken Fuente is among the music industry’s top sales reps! He has established himself as an innovative and creative salesman who has befriended his competition to learn all he could about ...
Marty Golden is the founder of the Canadian music distribution company JAM Industries. Marty began his career in retail, first working for his father in a pawnshop and later a music store...
Jack Hotop was among the innovative engineers at KORG during the early synthesizer craze, creating the first MIDI workstation, the KORG M1. During his long career at KORG, Jack has teamed...
Masahiro Iijima enjoyed working as an engineer in the music industry and was hopeful to one day create his own company and brands. He worked for KORG in Japan for 5 years, which is where...
Seiki Kato was the president of KORG, the Japan based electronics company that has created innovative musical products since his father first established the company in the 1970s. Seiki p...
Tsutomu Katoh had many ideas for using electronics to improve the way people make music in their homes. As the founder of KORG, Katoh-san (also spelled Kato) was able to see his ideas tur...
Jerry Kovarsky was the product/brand manager at KORG for over 15 years. Working with Jack Hotop they were part of the team that created a long line of innovative synthesizer products for ...
Andy Leary bought his first synthesizer when he was in high school and has been hooked ever since. His passion for music and electronics led him to attend a few classes at Stanford Univer...
John Lehmkuhl started playing music at the age of four, beginning with piano lessons in the music store his parents had opened in 1977. By his teenage years, he owned a Minimoog and, in 1...
Fumio Mieda was hired by the founder of KORG, Tsutomu Katoh, back in 1967. Mieda-san began working on a number of innovations as he hoped to improve the function of electronic organs. The...
Allan Pearlman grew up in Queens New York and taught at a local high school after college before working in the music industry. In 1975, Sid Hack, hired Allan as a sales rep for Unicord, ...
Greg Phillinganes reminds one of a chameleon with his innate ability to perfectly blend into any musical situation or setting. While still a teenager, Greg had the opportunity to join Ste...
Dan Phillips enjoyed his experiences playing drums in his junior high school marching band and singing in the choir. He pursued music in college and became fascinated with the quickly dev...
James Sajeva is the Senior Brand Manager for KORG USA, a firm he has worked for since 1996. His passion and love of music began at a young age and throughout his youth KORG instruments we...
Drew Schlesinger started playing organ after seeing The Doors on The Ed Sullivan Show. While in college, Drew purchased his first Moog synthesizer and attended the Boston School of Electr...
Peter Schwartz is a pianist, composer, and synthesist who has worked for KORG on such projects as the M1, Wavestation, Prophecy and OASYS. After a wonderful experience with his classical ...
Victoria Theodore has had some marvelous musical experiences both as a musician and teacher. Her first big gig was a seven-year stint touring with Stevie Wonder in his band. Being classic...
Tadashi (Sunny) Umekage is an executive within the Japan Music Industry who has been a strong supporter of NAMM and several of the organization’s programs including the NAMM Oral History ...
Morgan Walker worked in the marketing side of the sports industry before being hired by Korg USA, in 2014, to focus on public relations and managing special events. She grew in her positi...
Laura Whitmore’s passion for music began at a young age, learning to play guitar and writing songs as a teenager. She attended Hofstra University where she earned a B.S. in Music Merchand...
