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...
Mark Ragin jumped from working at the retail level of a music store into wholesale when he realized there was a real need for a band instrument and accessory distributor geared toward the...
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...
John Richardson has fond memories of walking into Don Wilson Music in Kentucky and purchasing his first tenor saxophone. Mr. Wilson sold the instrument for less than it was worth in the h...
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 ...
Robert Saied took great inspiration from his father, James. Robert’s father formed the Saied Music Company in Tulsa, OK in 1946 after serving as a band director in various schools in the ...
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...
Fred Schiff proudly carries on the legacy of his parents, Mel and Sally Schiff, who opened a small, service-oriented music store in Tamarac, Florida, in 1976. Focused on band and orchestr...
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...
Denny Senseney is a passionate music retailer who began his career as a band director. When he formed Senseney Music in 1984, he sought to provide the service to band directors that he fe...
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...
Leslie Stirm is the owner of the Instrumental Music Center in Tucson, Arizona. Joining the store in 2001, Leslie has helped develop the store’s team, which has a strong focus on customer ...
Briant Summerhays has been a part of the music industry his entire life. His mother and father opened a music store in Utah in the days following World War II. Earlier, his father, Hy, ha...
Colleen Summerhays recalled the day in 1940 when she walked into a local music store to inquire about a clerical position. She met the owner, her future husband, Hy Summerhays, who had op...
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...
Lori Supinie was an active music maker since she was a child. Throughout her life she provided music and music lessons to others as well as being a strong leader within the music products...
Wes Sutton has a background as a musician and a welder and wasn’t too sure about an opening at King Music Company in Brownwood, Texas, but he was looking for a change so he took a chance....
David Tarpley remembered crawling around in the ceiling of his current church as a child, hauling the wires for the Allen Organ his father and uncle were installing. As a member of the Ta...
John Tarpley likes to echo the message his great-grandmother lived by when she established the family business over 100 years ago: the customer is most important. Since taking over the bu...
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...
