C.J. Averwater recalls the story of his great grandfather, M.J. Averwater, a music teacher who decided to open a small store in Memphis called Amro Music. C.J. grew up in the business and...
Mitchel Banks has been working in the music store his father established as far back as he can remember. After serving as a band director, Don Banks formed his retail store in Tampa in 1...
Russell Beacock is president of Beacock Music, a Vancouver, Washington-based retail store that was established by his parents, Dale and Susan, back in 1976. Proudly representing the secon...
Cris Behrens began working with Summerhays Music Center at the age of 19. He earned a degree in band instrument repair from Red Wing Technical College and spent his first five years at Su...
Jeff Bertrand is the president of the music company his parents started back in 1983. His father, John Sr., a former band director wanted to provide much-needed support and supplies to sc...
Larry Biernacki opened the first of three music stores in Deerfield, Illinois. Like with all three locations, he named it after the local community to provide a neighborhood feel to each ...
T. Warren Brown was president of the music store his father established in the Tacoma, Washington area in the years of World War II. Ted Brown Music became an important leader in the musi...
Sharon Brown was a teenager when she first began working for Ted Brown Music. While in high school she met and began dating the founder’s son, Warren. Soon she discovered she had a real...
Whitney Brown Grisaffi proudly serves as the president of Ted Brown Music, a revered Tacoma, Washington-based retail establishment founded by her grandfather. Her unwavering dedication an...
Bill Causey had a long history of music in his family. His father was a band director and both his father’s brother and sister were fine musicians. Bill had great memories of the family...
Pete Ceo grew up in a musical home, thanks in large part to his band-directing father. When Pete was a child his parents owned a small music store in Wheeling, West Virginia. Pete grew ...
Charles Conrad comes from a very long line of music retailers. Charles’ grandfather started the store in 1890 and it has been in the same location since. Having seen years of change in th...
Madeleine Crouch always has an endless amount of energy. In the role of industry association manager, Madeleine took over the company established by Don Dillon, which offers organizationa...
Tim Dawson was inspired by his mother, a band director. All of her children played a musical instrument and Tim found the trombone! After serving as a band director for three years, Tim f...
Don Dillon is an industry original! Throughout his 25-plus years in non-profit association management, Don has represented some of the best-known organizations in the music industry, most...
George Douglas's grandfather opened a small music shop in Canada, which his father managed following his military service during World War II. The small store chugged along over the years...
Barry Draisen recalls the stories he was told about his grandfather who started a store that his uncle would later expand to include school band instruments. The store is now in Anderson...
Jim Eaton became a professional cellist and played often with his brother. He played in several orchestras and symphonies as well as small groups. Jim’s passion and knowledge of string in...
Roger Eaton recalled with a smile the day he joined the school band as a child. His first impression and the feeling of joy has never left him, which is why he has dedicated his life to ...
Bill Eckroth enjoyed being a band director in his home town of Mandan, North Dakota, just across the Missouri River from Bismarck. He started out teaching junior high school students, ma...
Mary Ann Eckroth quietly sat behind the desk working on the books while her husband Bill traveled to the local schools to help the band directors. She took care of the customers and clea...
Jeff Eckroth grew up surrounded by music retail, having been raised in the family business founded by his parents, Bill and Mary Ann Eckroth, in 1972. From an early age, Jeff was immersed...
David Ellis was greatly influenced by his father, Richard Ellis, the band director and music store founder. Growing up in the business, David developed a strong passion for music both as ...
Richard Ellis was proud of the three main areas of his professional career; playing, teaching and selling musical instruments. As a teenager Richard traveled with a big band, playing danc...
Paul Finke played drums since he was just a kid and gravitated towards the music business in 1985 when he was hired at Willis Music. At the time the company had eight locations and workin...
Gary Francisco opened his own music store in Southern California in the mid 1960s. Over the years he developed a strong business calling on schools and creating lesson programs. After clo...
John Fulton has had a very interesting ascent to his position as Vice President of Sales for Conn-Selmer. He started taking violin lessons in the fourth grade, at first to get out of clas...
Gene Garb is the Vice President of NEMC, joining the company only a few years after it was established in the 1950s. NEMC is a school oriented music wholesaler located in Mountainside, Ne...
Mark Goff was ready to work for a musical instrument manufacturer after college when he was told that he needed retail experience. Impressed with the idea and eager to learn all he could ...
Sandy Goff, co-owner of Paige's Music, has had many first-hand experiences witnessing the importance of music education in the lives of young students as well as the passion for music so ...
CK Gottschalk is the president of the music store in Michigan that his parents established in 1936, the same year they married. They expanded their business just before CK was born and l...
Ray Guntren is the president of Midbell Music in Iowa, a retail store he first began working at when he was a teenager. Over the years the chance came up for Ray to purchase the store, w...
