Kenny O’Brien is the president of Music & Arts, a retail store chain that his father, Ken O’Brian, established. Kenny oversees the stores, which focuses on school music and print and ...
Frank Pampenella is the owner and president of PM Music Center in Aurora, IL and has worked in the music industry for over 30 years. He founded PM Music Center in 1982, when he transition...
Leon Pascucci grew up in the music industry as his father was the president of Leblanc in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Leon remembers well the times he spent with Mr. Leblanc in France and the man...
Nick Peck’s entire face lights up whenever he talks about a great school music program! The son of a band director, the passion seems to be in his blood. After taking over the store his f...
Scott Peck is the President of Pecknel Music Company, the music store in Greenville, South Carolina that was formed by his grandfather. Scott grew up in the business, cleaning floors and...
Jerry Pellegrino wanted to own a business ever since he was a kid, so when the opportunity arose to start his own music store, he jumped at the chance. With a small loan and the help of s...
Laura Penrose is the dynamic and visionary owner of Nick Rail Music, a prominent chain of seven music store locations across Southern California. In 2019, she purchased the business from ...
Jerry Portman learned so much from his father and his grandfather about how to treat customers. Those lessons became key as Jerry set out to not only take over the family’s music store, ...
Steve Purcell grew up in a musical family and knew at a young age he wanted a life in music. After earning his degree, Steve was hired as a band director in 1977. Three years later he was...
Cindy Quinlan was once introduced at a NAMM meeting as “the boss lady” and the nickname stuck. She met her future husband, George Quinlan Jr., at a NASMD meeting in 1983. She was there on...
George Quinlan Jr. began working in the store his father established before he can remember, sweeping up on weekends and helping with band rental season in the fall. George worked in ever...
George Quinlan was proud of his store outside of Chicago, for which the walls are full of photographs of the children he rented or sold an instrument to, and the fact that he survived har...
Nick Rail was the visionary founder and dedicated president of the Southern California retail chain that proudly bore his name, starting in 1986. Nick began his career in 1974 as a talent...
David Rhodes was mentored by Wade Fuller, a lifelong musician whose family legacy is deeply woven into the fabric of Fuller’s Music, a beloved store originally founded by Wade’s grandfath...
Glenn Roberts is the president of Best Music in Oakland, California, which was first established in 1934. The store was established by Art Best during the Great Depression and soon became...
Johnny Rodgers can tell you all about the trends of piano sales in Texas. As salesman for Jent Music in Lubbock, he has watched the market and his customer base change over the years. He ...
Dean Samuel is the son of industry leader, Lowell Samuel, who not only formed the Samuel Music retail store in Effingham, IL but the pioneering music wholesale company, MIDCO, in 1964. Lo...
Lowell Samuel was the quintessential music man! He devoted his life to creating school band programs in the small towns of Illinois before and after World War II. After serving as a band ...
Bob Scheiwiller taught music for three years before landing a job at a music store; the very first store he would later purchase. Bob bought and opened several music stores over the years...
Mel Schiff and his wife Sally established All County Music in Tamarac, Florida. The first store opened in 1976 with a strong focus on band and orchestra music and repair. However, Mel’s...
Sally Schiff and her husband Mel moved from New York to Florida where they decided to open their own music retail business. All County Music in Tamarac, Florida first opened in 1976 with...
Connie Smith is the Vice President of Ward-Brodt Music in Madison, Wisconsin. She grew up in music and enjoyed playing music as a young girl, going on to study music in college. While in...
Jane Stanton worked for the war effort during World War II, which was before she met Ken Stanton, who was a band director, wishing to open a music store. Jane played a vital role in the s...
Scott Summerhays was the President of the company his parents established in Salt Lake City back in 1936. Scott and his brother Briant worked together to grow the family business and even...
David Teeple’s first job in the music industry was working for the large Grinnell Brothers chain in the 1960s, based in Michigan. When he was asked to teach guitar, he had to first learn ...
Rick Thacker is one of five kids in his family, all of which became multi instrumentalists. Rick pursued violin and viola beginning with the Suzuki Method when he was just three years old...
Nancy Vernon and her husband, Gene Monnig, own and operate Cadenza Music in St. Paul, Minnesota. Nancy is very active with the music teachers in and around the area and works hard to bui...
Robin Walenta attended the University of Northern Iowa and Middle Tennessee State University before joining West Music in 1982. She was named president/CEO of the company in 2007. Robin w...
Greg Way has had a long and successful career in the Canadian music retail industry and has been a strong advocate for music and music making throughout his career. As an owner of St. Jo...
Ryan West shared many of his memories of traveling abroad with his father, Steve, to understand and appreciate how the business great and diversified including their early distribution of...
Steve West took over his father’s store and went on to become an industry leader who served as president of the NAMM Board. Steve recalls the days as a boy running around West Music as hi...
