Christoph Bull is the organ professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His deep passion for music stems from his grandmother’s piano and his early days playing organ i...

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 ...

Nancy Kewin Smith is a pioneering senior executive who served the music products industry in an era in which she was among a small number of women in high-ranking positions. After earning...

Mark Altekruse, like so many passionate members of the music industry, specifically remembers the lessons he learned from one of his earliest and most influential music instructors. Tromb...

O’Lyn Callahan has played the piano since she was eight years old and started on organ at age twelve after receiving a Hammond B3 from her father. She came in third place at a Yamaha orga...

Rick Anderson was in a MBA program that required he write a research paper about a local business. This was his introduction to the Rodgers Instrument Corporation located in Hillsboro, Or...

Lynda Smith started on the piano early in her life and was always fascinated by the instruments at her local record shop. Her love for classical music led her down the path of studying mu...

Yuji Tanaka is a Senior Executive Officer for Roland Corporation who has enjoyed a successful career in the music products industry. Yuji provided detail about how and why he came to work...

Alan Greensall was working for Sound Technology when he helped broaden the reach of several brands into the British market. Among the brands were Taylor Guitars, Line 6 and G&L Guitar...

Adriana Balic is a vocalist, keyboardist, guitarist, songwriter, producer, bandleader, and educator, covering styles from classical to pop/rock and jazz. From 2003 she served as keyboardi...

Rick DePiro fell in love with music when he first decided to play the organ at the young age of 10, getting his first official gig just a few years later playing the electric piano in his...

Bob Bailey has a big gig to oversee each year, the annual Sweetwater Sound Gearfest! This is no small task as anyone of his friends on the NAMM staff can tell you, but Bob heads a strong ...

Carlo Lucarelli graduated with an electronics engineering degree in 1963 and after three years with GTE in Milano, he joined the music products industry first working with Farfisa Organs....

Giuseppe Vecchietti, known throughout his career as Beppe, primarily worked for three companies over his long career. All three were located in the same Italian Marche region by the Adria...

Luigi Bruti was an accordion champion as a teenager and was asked by the Siel Musical Instrument Company to demonstrate their latest products. It was the beginning of his life long career...

Jun-Ichi Miki joined the Roland Corporation in 1977 right after graduating from university. After working in research of sound synthesis and analysis for electronic musical instruments, i...

John Egan was working for Ford Motor Company when his old friend and former colleague, Peter Hayward called him. Peter had formed a music wholesale company, which was expanding by the lat...

Glenn Dodson played bass for a band he started with his schoolmates called Purple Haze. The band was high class, right down to their purple shirts! It was a fun experience that provided a...

Keith Huxtable worked for Rose Music (now Yamaha) in Melbourne for 13 years beginning in the early-1970s. Starting in the service department and moving into product management, he witness...

Tony Fenelon cut his teeth on the Theatre Organ and became the artist in residence at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne in the early 1960s. He recalls performing demos at the NAMM Shows beg...

Jay Wanamaker found his passion for music as a member of a drum and bugle corps and eventually honed his skills while attending the Crane school of music at SUNY Potsdam University in Pot...

Bruce Mihalek has played the piano since he was just eight years old. When he saw the Beatles on TV, Bruce purchased a guitar and formed his own band. The band was the Animals Fax of Lyfe...

Newell Hardy had a life changing experience playing in the Youth Symphony on viola while in middle school. That opportunity led to his love of guitar and later his passion for the pedal s...

George Kirkwood joined the Rodgers Instrument Corp. in the engineering department just five years after the company was formed by Rodgers Jenkins and Fred Tinker.  Beyond his fourth year ...

Dick Schalk began working for the Rodgers Instrument Corp. in the 1970s when the Hillsboro, Oregon company was independently owned, then sold to CBS Musical Instruments.  He remained with...

Erik Gramkow started his career in the music business with piano manufacturer Brødr Jørgensen. When Eric joined the company the focus was on importing music instruments to Scandinavia. Ha...

Adrian Belew had the NAMM attendees on their feet when he joined the All Star Guitar Night in Nashville 2003. Perhaps the feelings were more than just an appreciation for his music as man...

David Marshall grew up in a musical home and played piano and cello at an early age.  As part of the Wessex Youth Orchestra he played in many prestigious concerts including the Schools Pr...

Lynda Garcia is first and foremost a music teacher, which was not only her background but her life’s passion.  As she taught, Lynda developed methods and materials that assisted individua...

Lee Hargrove grew up in a musical home, one that not only produced Lee and his life long career in music, but also his sister, Linda Hargrove, who became a successful songwriter in Nashvi...

Dewey Kuhn grew up listening to his grandmother playing the organ, which she did in her younger days accompanying silent movies.  His passion grew as he learned to play.

Brian Nunney was born in Cheltenham, England, and served in the Royal Air Force for four years before he was hired by the Littlewoods Department store.  The company purchased a small musi...