Bogdan Pawlikowski grew up in a family of violin luthiers. His uncle John and father Walter both achieved notoriety for their handed crafted instruments as well as their well-respected re...
Walter Pawlikowski was born in Maruszyna, Poland, not long after World War II. His older brother John became a well-known violin repairman and luthier, which inspired Walter to follow in ...
Dan Hagedorn grew up watching his father run the family’s music retail business and always knew he would work in the music industry. His father, known as Crazy Al, began his business in t...
Luyang Liu was born in China and was greatly encouraged by her mother to develop her skills as a musician. Luyang attended VanderCook College of Music and earned her degree in music educa...
Scott Gauthier is the Repair Shop Manager for the Arlington Heights location of Quinlan & Fabish, a chain of music stores in the greater Chicago area. Scott was encouraged by his moth...
Mary Garbrecht is in the envious position to experience the moment when a child makes their first sound on an instrument! As the educational road rep for Quinlan & Fabish, a music sto...
Ashley Beleny is a music teacher and associate at Piano Trends Music Company in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Her love and passion for music began in her church where she was often found singin...
Bobbi Paul is the Co-Founder of Piano Trends Music Company in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Bobbi and her husband opened the music store in 1990 and have been proud to see it grow into an impor...
Barb Schotanus learned the clarinet while in the Catholic Band Program as a young girl. She enjoyed the program so much that she earned her music education degree at DePaul University and...
Bruce Waters grew up with his guitar ever-present. He played for small events around the Chicago area as a kid and started providing music lessons when he was 18 years old. He later toure...
John Benedeck sat down at the keyboard during his NAMM interview to demonstrate the riffs and clever tunes he plays as an organist for the Chicago Cubs baseball team! He is proud to have ...
Aldren Briones is a passionate musician and songwriter who found great satisfaction in providing music lessons at his local music store. The store, Piano Trends, was founded by Tim and Bo...
Samantha Tranchida is very proud of her role at Quinlan and Fabish Music in the Chicago area as she assists young students in discovering the instrument they will play in school. The expe...
Kayla Davis was in grade school when a high school band performed for her class. The group played the theme from Star Wars and Kayla took a special interest in watching and listening to t...
Jessica Ferrari is the Regional Manager for six of the Menchey Music store locations, a position she greatly enjoys. While working with many of the details of running the stores, Jessica ...
Amanda Rueter is the Vice President of Ernie Williamson Music, which has four retail locations. The company was established in 1935 and purchased by Springfield Music in 2002. The company...
Michele Dwiggins is the E-Commerce and Marketing Manager for Beacock Music located in Washington State. Her career started there in the early 2000s and she has since grown her position th...
Katie Helgeson remembers the day in the fourth grade when a local music store brought instruments to her school to try out. She asked the instructor which was the hardest to learn and so ...
Cathy English grew up in a very musical family and began playing piano at the age of three. Both of her parents played as did Cathy and her brother. Their father arranged for the entire f...
Kristin Masarik loves the moment when a young student comes into Heid Music with their parents to pick up an instrument for their school's band program. They are bewildered and nervous, y...
Jerry Lard is a piano technician in the Muscle Shoals area in Northern Alabama. The region is famously known for its string of recording studios for which Jerry has served as technician f...
Jim Greenhill opened Jim’s Music store in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The area was brimming with recording activity in 1977 when Jim opened the store and as a result, most of the studio sessi...
Sonja Lynne grew up in her mother’s music studio and found her voice as a singer. Sonja studied opera and can still be heard singing in her church. She had a few jobs, including as a scho...
Russ Gazda recalls listening to his mother playing the Hawaiian Guitar as a child. He played the accordion and later was introduced to the Hammond B-3, thanks to recordings by his hero Bo...
James Harding is very passionate about his role in the music industry and particularly proud of his efforts to foster strong relationships between piano dealers and piano teachers. James ...
Tom Tuson was just 12 years old when he was hired by the Wurlitzer company to demonstrate their organs. As a “Wurlitzer Kid” he played at state fairs and supermarkets to gain the attentio...
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...
Don Hilsberg fell in love with the harp when he was in the third grade and was taken to the symphony. His parents could not afford a harp, so young Don began taking organ and piano lesson...
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...
Dave Rivard has thoroughly enjoyed his role at Roland Corporation as a sales rep. He has grown the role over the years and covered nearly every state, making connections, introducing new ...
Harry Tuft is a true legend in the world of Folk music! As founder of the Denver Folklore Center, he has provided instruments to music makers of all ages. As a promoter of all things folk...
Saul Rosenthal has been driven by two ideals, equal rights for all people and supporting music and music makers whenever possible! After earning his Ph.D., Saul taught sociology at the co...
