String Instruments

Charles Avsharian is the CEO of Shar Musical Products, which he established in 1962 along with his brother, Michael. The brothers toured for years as professional musicians and along with their father formed a small business to provide instruments and accessories to their friends and fellow musicians. When the company grew the boys decided to work full time for the company, which has continued to grow in size and service.  

Jason Bartel opened Maple Leaf Strings in 2011, right across the street from his father’s business, Baroque Violin Shop, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The two companies helped each other, and often Jason would walk a customer's violin over to his dad for repairs. Jason’s father, Paul Bartel, opened a small violin shop in the family home in1974 with a strong focus on the needs of students and teachers and moved the shop into the historic Smith-Jessup house in 1982. Jason grew up in the shop.

Chuck Berghofer is the answer to such trivia questions as Who played bass on Nancy Sinatra's big hit "These Boots Where Made For Walking" and Who is playing the bass lick for the TV theme song for "Barney Miller."  Chuck has been a mainstay in the Los Angeles studios since the 1960s and worked with a long list of performers and styles over his amazing career.  Chuck was a member of the Wrecking Crew and toured with Frank Sinatra for eight years.  Among his most favorite gigs, jazz recordings with the likes of Zoot Sims and Stan Getz. Check out his remarks about working with Frank

George Borun began his luthier endeavors as a hobby and soon found himself enthralled with the angles, the woods and the tools of the trade. He embarked on a mission to assemble the blueprints and patterns of the world’s finest string instruments and sought to solve the mystery of their uniqueness. Along the way he created an impressive collection of instruments he made by hand and true to his belief in giving music back to music makers, then donated his instruments to students of all levels.  

Dave Bresnan had a true passion for music that began when he was fifteen when he learned to play the piano. Throughout the 1960’s, Dave played guitar and banjo in several groups after discovering Folk music. During this time, he also realized his dream of one day owning his own music store and repair shop. When Frets Old & New opened in Aintree, Liverpool, it quickly became a success thanks to Dave’s passion and outstanding sales and service. While attending guitar shows across the UK, he partnered with Martin Guitars to sell their guitars and accessories at several shows.

Lou Capece began selling musical products in the 1960s and has since become one of the industry’s largest musical instrument wholesale distributors. One of the successes of the company has been the development of their self-branded instruments with names well known around the world today, such as Oxford, DiPalo and New York Pro. After a long and successful career as a guitarist, Lou began selling accessories and instruments to his friends and fellow musicians. Soon the company grew enough that Lou could work full time for the wholesale business and travel less, making it possible

Ellen Cavanaugh brought her innovative business ideas and skillful communication and marketing concepts to expand the historic brands that make up the Super-Sensitive Musical String Company. Formed in the 1930s and established on the Red Label line of strings, Super-Sensitive was purchased by Ellen’s husband in 1967 and the company moved from Chicago to Florida to focus on new markets and a new product line. Ellen played a key role in the company’s expansion into other accessories and musical products.  

John Cavanaugh and his father bought the Super-Sensitive Musical String Company in 1967 and worked long and hard to bring the products into new and international markets. John created the research and development department for the company, designing new products such as the Old Fiddler line. John also sought to improve the strings available for cellos and basses and introduced the now renowned Supreme string line.  

Gary Chen is the owner of Stein On Vine, the historic horn and string shop in Hollywood, California whose customer list reads like a who's who of jazz and film music.  Gary was hired by the founder, Maury Stein, the brother of famed songwriter Julie Stein.  Maury had developed a wonderful reputation among musicians who came in for new instruments as well as repairs and accessories.  Jazz legends such as Benny Carter,Stan Getz, Phil Woods as well as bassist Ray Brown, who became like a second father to Gary.  Gary's role in the store has been equally notable, which included bringin

Rock Clouser is the String Brand Manager for KHS America but would you believe his passion for music started with the zither? His fondness for the instrument ignited a passion for playing stringed instruments. By the time he was nine he was playing guitar and soon after studied the string bass. While in college he focused on broadcasting, creating jingles for the school’s radio station. His introduction to the music products industry began when he provided some 50 lessons a week at Don’s Music and Opus One, which he continued for nearly a decade.

Jake Connolly has fond memories of working with his father, who became his mentor in life and the music business. Together, father and son grew their string distribution company from a short list of products to a strong offering based on several product lines. The relationships they built years ago remains important in partnerships such as those with Thomastik-Infeld and Konig & Meyer. Jake has also devoted his time and resources to music advocacy and supporting music in the school programs as well as serving on the NAMM Board of Directors.

John Connolly established the Connolly Music Company (originally Connolly & Co., Inc.) back in 1970. Best known for distributing such brands as Thomastik-Infeld and König & Meyer, the company remains a family owned enterprise, with John's son, Jake, now at the helm. In 1954 John was hired by William Gratz as general manager of his wholesale business, which distributed products such as Hofner, Paesold, Bohm & Meinl, Kohlert, and Thomastik-Infeld. The company was sold to John after Mr. Gratz’ passing in the 1960s.

Jacquelyn Dillon-Krass was a pioneering woman in the music products industry. As a music educator she first connected with the industry when hired by Scherl & Roth in 1970 to head up their efforts to promote their string products by creating string orchestras in the public school system. She created schools in Oklahoma and Kansas and went on to write the book on how to create such programs, which was published by Kjos Music. She later wrote the Strictly Strings series for Alfred Publishing and among many other roles was the editor of the American String Teachers magazine.

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 instruments made him the perfect buyer for St. Louis Music. His role within the company expanded over the years, eventually becoming Vice President when Mark Ragin purchased the wholesaler from LOUD and moved it back to St. Louis. Jim was a strong supporter of school music programs and organizations that serve them including NASMD.

Ahmet Ediz grew up in Turkey and began playing the violin at an early age.  He became a professional concert musician and traveled with several orchestras.  Along the way he noticed a need to better care for his instrument, particularly regarding the wood.  He noticed that even the instruments of his fellow musicians who cared for their violins would crack when the wood became too dry.  Ahmet soon developed a powder, which he placed in a pouch that would allow moisture into the case without getting the instrument wet.  The powder holds water that acts like a humidor for the instru

Amy England was just seven years old when she proudly sold her first set of guitar strings in her family’s Indianapolis music store. Her grandparents, Leola and Amos Arthur, had opened Arthur’s Music Store in the early 1950s, and it quickly became renowned worldwide for its impressive selection of stringed instruments. Amy eagerly learned the intricate art of instrument repairs and finish work from her grandfather, while listening to his captivating stories about famous customers and his involvement with the iconic Gibson Flying V #12, later owned by bluesman Joe Bonamassa.

Rebecca Ensley studied clarinet in college and yet somehow got caught up in the crazy world of stringed instruments as a luthier and repair technician. It all started in 1991 when a friend who was working at Southwest Strings in Tucson suggested she apply for an opening in the mail order department. Her role expanded soon after to submitting school bids and working the retail end of the business, all the while taking classes and gaining experience as a luthier and repair tech. With her background in music education, Rebecca knows how important it is to provide a child with easy-to

Kurt Glaesel was born into a violin-making family, which dates back to 1720, but it was Kurt who made his family name nationally known. After a noted 20 year career with Heinrich Roth, Kurt established Glaesel String Instrument Service, Inc. in 1973. The company was soon sold to Selmer, where Kurt remained making his handcrafted instruments for 15 additional years. During that time, Selmer marketed the string instrument line with a strong, worldwide campaign that featured Kurt’s likeness on each ad and brochure.  He was so very proud that his daughter Judy and his granddaughter Ha

Joe Guth’s career in the music products industry began with a short stint with Selmer and as a former band director he brought a great perspective to selling instruments to school music programs. He later had a storied 25-year career at Gemeinhart Flutes in Elkhart, IN, where he furthered his relationships with dealers in larger markets along with the band directors with whom he could so easily relate. One of Joe’s most satisfying aspects of his career in the industry was the many friendships he developed along the way.  

Reiner Hammerl is the son of Josef Hammerl, who in 1938 opened a drugstore in Germany. Among the products he created himself were natural wood varnishes and stains that soon became well used by violin makers. When Reiner joined the company in 1954, the product line was well established as a leading varnish for instrument makers. Over the years they continued to add to the varnish in color and dyes and also added a line of stains and brushes created for musical instrument makers. The drugstore closed in 1992 but Reiner and his son Michael continue to produce the famous varnishes.  

Denisa Hanna took guitar lessons with jazz great Johnny Smith before working with him at his musical instrument store in Colorado Springs, CO. While working in the store she met and fell in love with jazz drummer, Jake Hanna. When the couple moved to Los Angeles, Denisa expanded her interest as a luthier and devoted herself to the fine craft of bow making. During her interview she provided a history of bow making as well as several demonstrations of the many processes involved with hand made bows.  

Won Jung Kim is the president of Shimro Musical Instruments Company in Seoul, South Korea. The company is a leader in manufacturing all levels of bowed instruments and in recent years has become a distributor in South Korea, carrying her brands as well as those supplied by the D’Addario & Co. Her dedication to her brands and the quality of those products has become well known throughout the music industry. Mrs. Kim is also very dedicated to customer service and the well-fare of her employees, a fact very clear during her NAMM Oral History interview.

Judy Kaufman and her husband, John Pedersen, own Amazing Grace Music, a charming and funky (in a good way) music store located in San Anselmo, California. The couple purchased the store in 1983 and some years later when the owners of the land were going to sell it, the couple sadly could not afford to purchase the property, nor make the necessary upgrades to the building. This is when a series of friends and supporters of the store got the word out about their troubling position.

Richard Keldsen is the president of Saga Music in San Francisco, California.  His first musical inspiration was hearing Earl Scruggs playing Bluegrass banjo for the first time.  After two years in the Peace Corps, Richard had the opportunity to open a music store called the Fifth String in San Francisco in 1973.  He opened two more stores in Northern California before concentrating on a wholesale business he started on the side.  He called the wholesale company Saga Music and he soon began supplying retail stores around the country.  His love of music and his passion for the music

Gerhard Klier’s grandfather, Anton Schrötter, owned a violin shop and workshop in Cheb/Eger. In the 1920s several of Gerhard’s relatives moved to the United States. His uncle, Roman Klier, ended up working for Wurlitzer repairing violins, while Gerhard’s grand uncle, Andrew Schrötter, opened a workshop in New York. Gerhard grew up in in the Czech Republic and went to school in Kraslice/Graslitz, specializing in building musical instruments. After a career in the research and development field at Amati, Gerhard was allowed to emigrate to West Germany in 1967.

Irena Komatar was the founder and president of the Lastra Company, located in the country of Slovenia. What started out as a small music retail store quickly grew into both retailing and wholesaling of musical products. Irena’s goal was to create top service for her customers, both musicians who walked into her store as well as fellow music dealers in her country that she calls on as a wholesaler. She had a special drive to provide the best customer service possible and often provided lessons for free to those who count not afford them. Irena sadly passed away at the age of 52 fro

Neil Lilien has been a life long supporter of the arts, playing music since he was a child and growing up to own one of the finest names in stringed instruments. Neil worked for Guild Guitars for nearly 20 years before purchasing Meisel Stringed Instruments in 1984. The company, which had also been known as C. Meisel & Company, is one of the world’s best-known providers of violins and related products.

Günter Lobe is a violin maker who is known for his faithful copies of Stradivari and other famous violins. He was an apprentice from 1977 to 1980 in the Ernst Heinrich Roth workshop in Bubenreuth, Germany and in 2008 Günter became master of the guild of string instrument makers with about 50 members in the area. He organizes group exhibits with his colleagues at trade shows and has been appointed to the jury for the masters’ examination. Günter received many outstanding awards for his artistry throughout his career and can pride himself to count the Sultan of Oman as one of his cu

Harald Lorenz is the fourth generation of peg turners originating from a traditional farming community named Ursprung/ Počátky in the Czech Republic. The family looks back on 125 years of producing tuning pegs. Father Emil and his brother Alfred Lorenz resettled to Bubenreuth after 1945 to provide pegs for the booming production of stringed instruments during the 1950s and 1960s. Harald decided he did not want to continue the tradition of making tuning pegs when he started his career as a dental technician. In 1987, Harald changed his mind and joined his father Emil's company. He

Kurt Lutz was a well-regarded German luthier who, along with many other instrument makers, settled in Bubenreuth, Germany following World War II. Mr. Lutz provided a first-hand account of the era by explaining that the city council created a poster seeking to find instrument makers displaced by the war who were looking for a new place to live. The town even created special housing for instrument makers, including Mr. Lutz, who lived in the buildings with his family for several years until his business was established and he was able to buy his own house.  

Daniel Mari followed in the footsteps of his father in running the Mari String Company in New York City. While serving as president of the company, Daniel worked hard to expand the product line as well as open the company up to serving the growing global market. In addition to exhibiting at NAMM and the Frankfurt Fair, Daniel supported many music educational programs. In 1946, when the NAMM Show returned after a two years hiatus due to World War II, a young Daniel Mari was among the enthusiastic attendees who was responding to a surge in the demand for musical instruments and acce

Pete McClelland teamed up with his wife to open a folk instrument music store in London in 1975. The idea was new and it was unclear if they would be successful, but they dedicated themselves to their customers and to the folk and bluegrass communities. Hobgoblin Music grew, and Pete felt a wholesale business could compliment the retail store and provide quality folk instruments to other retail stores throughout the world. As a result, in 1981, Gremlin Music was born. Over the years the couple has remained dedicated to the people and the instruments of roots music, to the point of