The NAMM Foundation's Museum of Making Music

Florence Sachs was very active in community organizations, especially those with a focus on continuing education. When she heard about the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music she signed up as a volunteer and was soon trained as a docent. Florence was helpful in the early development of the museum's outreach speakers' bureau program due to her involvement with other community organizations that would request such presentations. With her help, the museum's program was designed to make the most of each presentation, complete with an offer to provide tours to those who wanted to

Rich Schermerhorn is a proud volunteer at NAMM’s Museum of Making Music, located in Carlsbad, California. The museum has several positions for volunteers and Rich seems to do most of them. He is often found leading tours and serving as a gallery attendant, helping guests, and providing fun and unique facts about the instruments on display. Now retired, Rich spent his career as an electrical engineer in the medical devices industry. His understanding of audio engineering has been a great benefit for those on his tours as he has a depth of knowledge related to electronic musical ins

Joyce Schmauder says that her favorite part about volunteering at the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music is the people. From the young kids to the seniors, Joyce enjoys interacting with all of them and talking about making music. She has always liked music and remembers listening to her mother play piano when she was young. She was given the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2014. Joyce believes that the museum is a place where connections and friendships are formed and says that it’s all because of the music.

Tony Schmidt was the very first volunteer of the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music (located in the NAMM building) to provide 1,000 hours of service. As a kid, he saw Duke Ellington perform in his hometown of Chicago and was hooked, not only on Ellington (for which he was a noted expert), but on all things jazz. Tony played a significant role in the NAMM Resource Center, providing research, camera work, and conducting several interviews himself. His contributions to this program are innumerable.

Marilyn Shepard taught music in public schools for thirty-five years. Ever since she was young, she was involved in making music, along with her twin sister, as well as collecting instruments from different cultures. After she retired from teaching, the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music offered her a place to continue with her passion of education children about making music. To date she has given over 100 tours of the Museum of Making Music.

Phee Sherline brought her passion for music to NAMM’s Museum of Making Music a docent and gallery attendant. She was a young adult when the Folk Music boom occurred during the 1960s and 70s. She was taken by the close harmonies and the stories each song told. She was drawn to the guitar and formed a duo with her husband, often billed as Ken & Phee. They recorded together and played at many clubs and festivals. She was very involved in the Folk Music Songmaker’s Group in the Los Angeles area, which promotes the musical style and brings fans and performers together for special e

Paula Simmons wanted to create a shop where good quality instruments could be accessible to all those who came in the store.  As a teacher, Paula was very interested in providing lessons for students of all ages.  She tied both needs together when she and her partner, Kevin Smith,opened The Violin Shop in San Diego.  While continuing to perform as a professional musician, Paula somehow squeezed a little more time from her day to become the conductor of the North Coast Strings, which rehearses at the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California. Her passion can

Curtis Smith grew up loving the music of the 1950s and remembers the first 45 record he ever bought was "Cry" by Johnny Ray. While working in the aerospace industry Curtis continued collecting records and attending concerts of his favorite performers including Little Richard. When he and his wife retired to Carlsbad, Curtis learned about the NAMM Foundation’s  Museum of Making Music and soon signed up as a volunteer where he has provided presentations on Doowop music to the volunteers and provided countless tours to visitors of all ages.

Jeff Snell is a dedicated volunteer at NAMM’s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California, where his passion for music and curiosity for learning enrich both visitors and the museum team. Growing up in New York during the vibrant folk revival of the 1960s, Jeff was shaped by the music of Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and a young Bob Dylan, while also drawing inspiration from the traditions of jazz and blues. He began with piano lessons and school music programs before discovering the guitar, which became his lifelong companion.

Henry Z. Steinway was quite articulate when speaking about the incredible history of the Steinway and Sons Piano Company. One could say that he lived all elements of being a Steinway as the former president of the Steinway Company. His love for music led to the creation of the board of the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music, for which Henry was the first president. His passion for music went beyond that of the company. As he once said, “You don’t have to play the piano, but do play an instrument.” His inspiration and example will be felt for many decades to come.

Logan Swords has always been passionate about music and about promoting music makers. As a young child, he began playing drums and found out first-hand the benefits of music making. When he opened his own music retail shop in Fort Worth, Texas, he found himself in the position of bringing those benefits into the lives of those who walked in his doors. Over the years Logan has been a strong supporter of NAMM and the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music, which currently has on display the 1940s cash register that was custom-made for Ault's Music in Fort Worth, Texas.

John Tedeschi started playing music again when his son took up the saxophone in the school band and needed someone to practice improvisation with. John had been playing the guitar since high school for fun, and playing with his son gave him the itch for more. He began buying more gear, practicing more, and when he retired he found the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music. John was looking for something to do in his spare time that he loves, and the museum fit the bill perfectly.

Arnold Tubis was a physicist, educator, author, and lifelong student of the science of music. After earning his PhD in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Arnold joined the faculty at Purdue University, where he became Professor Emeritus and inspired generations of students through his teaching and research. Throughout his career, he maintained a deep fascination with the mathematics and acoustics of music, developing courses that explored the relationship between science and musical sound.

Velia Villasenor-Telles grew up singing with her sister. Music was always a big part of her life, as she is related to the record producer Johnny Otis and the jazz composer and arranger Gerald Wilson. When she and her husband retired to Carlsbad, she soon heard about the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music and signed up as a docent. After her training, Velia became docent, providing tours to school age children all the way up to seniors and she enjoyed each experience of sharing music with others. And as you can guess, it was Velia who made our NAMM Oral History interview wit

Brian Vincik was in the right place at the right time. As a synthesizer enthusiast and engineer, Brian graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1979 and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when many of the most innovative synthesizer companies were designing new musical products. Brian became friendly with many of the designers and engineers including John Bowen from Sequential Circuits and Dave Smith (who would write the MIDI Spec.) Brian formed the first MIDI user group called the International MIDI Association in 1983 and was the sole source for the MIDI specification 1.0 in

Dee Vinton was known as Dancin’ Dee around the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music where she was a noted docent since the early 2000’s. Dee was fond of telling her tour groups that her mother was a dime-a-dance girl in the heyday of the 1920’s dance craze. After retiring from a successful career in the food service industry, where she pioneered the hiring of special needs employees, Dee signed up to learn about the music products industry and to serve as a museum docent. Her warm and friendly personality and strong knowledge of the exhibits made Dee one of the true treasures

Greg Walker was inspired by musical masters and song stylists such as Nat "King" Cole, Johnny Hartman, Sarah Vaughn, and Sam Cooke, and started singing at the age of nine. These legendary musicians made an indelible impression on Greg's artistry and style, setting high performance standards in quality musical expression.  Early in his career, Greg's special sound led to an invaluable audition with Carlos Santana

Katie Wheeler was an early volunteer of the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in the NAMM headquarters in Carlsbad, California.  Her docent experience with the museum gave Katie the opportunity to work across the lobby in the NAMM Resource Center.  Her personal interest in documentation and organization was the perfect fit in the early days of cataloging the archival collection.  Katie continued to play a very valuable role in finding aid documents for most of the companies and music stores within the collection for searching and easy reference. She passed away in July 2025