Women in the Music Industry

Holly Vallandingham, along with her husband Richie, proudly owns and operates Ada Music Center in Oklahoma, a vibrant, community-centered music store with a rich history dating back to 1970. Originally founded by Denver Spence — who shared his story in the NAMM Oral History program in 2014 — the store changed hands over the years, from Jerry Howard to his son Richard, before Richie joined the team and eventually purchased the business with Holly in 2004.

Mary Vandenberg started at Hal Leonard as the sole licensing administrator in the Milwaukee office and eventually became the Vice President of Business Affairs.  In that role she dealt with copyright, trademark and other intellectual property issues and was the liaison with music rights owners and others from whom the company licensed rights for its products.  She developed many of the templates used by the company in its various licensing and business contract areas.  She now is a consultant to the Business Affairs department, handles all of the contracts for the book trade area,

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 build those relationships so the store can best serve the needs of teachers and students alike. The store, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2015, became a strong supporter of all things music in the area, a fact for which Nancy is particularly proud.  Her quest to provide the needed resources and materials for school and private teachers has been a key factor in the store’s success.    

Michèle Vice-Maslin has always had a passion for music and songwriting. She grew up with her family in Queens, NY and started playing instruments and writing poetry at a young age. After high school, Michèle moved to Arizona to study music and creative writing at the University of Arizona, and ultimately ended up in Los Angeles, CA. She relized that her songwriting could trancense genres and became more involved in writing music for television and film. Michèle has gone on to become an Emmy award-winning songwriter and has worked as a music supervisor, publisher and producer.

Tracy Vignati and her husband Fabrice formed a band together using a style they call Gypsybilly! They debuted their band, The Vignatis, in 2009. Tracy describes their style as a blend of French and English vocals set to gypsy orchestration (using guitar, clarinet, accordion, and violin) and Rockabilly’s hard-hitting swing (using electric guitar and upright bass). Her musical journey began with her mother, who sang with big bands. Tracy began singing as a child and in school played clarinet. She studied classical music and sang in bars and clubs as she grew up.

Women’s role in the music industry has progressively grown and developed over the years.  When the NAMM Oral History program began, many of the women interviewed kept the books of their retail store.  However, the role women have played in the industry grew to include more and more women in top managerial positions. These are decision making roles, and roles that allow more involvement in the industry as a whole. This vignette might also serve as a time-capsule of its own as we can imagine a day when the thought of separating women from men for such a video doesn't make any sense

Rosa Villa is the Lead Supervisor within the drumhead shipping department at Remo Inc. headquarters in Valencia, California   Like many of her co-workers, Rosa has been working for the company for several decades and she finds the work very rewarding.  Over the years she has taken part in the growth of the company, for example when they moved from North Hollywood to the current building.

Velia Villasenor-Telles grew up singing with her sister. Music was always a big part of her life, as she is related to the record producer Johnny Otis and the jazz composer and arranger Gerald Wilson. When she and her husband retired to Carlsbad, she soon heard about the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music and signed up as a docent. After her training, Velia became docent, providing tours to school age children all the way up to seniors and she enjoyed each experience of sharing music with others. And as you can guess, it was Velia who made our NAMM Oral History interview wit

Linda Vincent worked for a short time at the NAMM headquarters, which is where she met her husband, the late John Vincent, who at the time was Director of Trade Shows. We missed our chance to interview John for the Oral History program as he passed away in 2013.  However, Linda was thankfully able to cover much of his history and her own views of the industry and the inner workings of NAMM for a decade beginning in 1984.  

Dee Vinton was known as Dancin’ Dee around the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music where she was a noted docent since the early 2000’s. Dee was fond of telling her tour groups that her mother was a dime-a-dance girl in the heyday of the 1920’s dance craze. After retiring from a successful career in the food service industry, where she pioneered the hiring of special needs employees, Dee signed up to learn about the music products industry and to serve as a museum docent. Her warm and friendly personality and strong knowledge of the exhibits made Dee one of the true treasures

Lauren Vogel Weiss was playing in the high school band but struggling to find the accessories she needed.  This program gave her and her father, Harvey, an idea.  Together they formed Lone Star Percussion and worked hard to fill the need of providing instruments and accessories to students and their teachers.  The company soon gained respect within the industry, in large part attributed to Lauren's personal attention to the details and in connecting with her customers.  Years later she formed her own firm that connected percussionists and clinicians with stores and schools in need

Cordelia von Gymnich was born in Frankfurt, which is ironic considering that for so many members of the music product industry, she is Frankfurt!  Her love of music began at an early age, where her love of singing was born.  After college, Cordelia was hired by the Messe Frankfurt group and in 2000 was promoted as Vice President of Musikmesse annual trade show in Frankfurt. Soon she started cooperating with NAMM on several projects together including the NAMM Musikmesse Russia.

Julie Wagnitz manages the school road reps for Heid Music in Wisconsin, supporting the team that interacts most with the local band directors. Her passion for music developed in large part to her father who played accordion in Polka bands. She went on to play several instruments including banjo, bass guitar and trumpet.

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Bea Wain was a singer with the big bands during the great swing era of the 1940s. She began singing with Artie Shaw's orchestra in 1937. Her greatest success came as she sang for Larry Clinton's orchestra where she recorded the pop hit "Deep Purple" and her signature song "My Reverie." On April 30, 2017, Bea celebrated her 100th birthday in Los Angeles and passed away that August.

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 was appointed to the NAMM ExCom and has also served as a board member for the National Association of School Music Dealers and treasurer for the Iowa Alliance for Art Education.

Paula Walker began working in the music industry right out of high school for the Gemeinhart flute company in Elkhart, Indiana.  In the early years she worked primarily on student instruments for Gemeinhart, which provided products designed especially for younger students.  Her attention to detail became an important part of the process of assembling the instruments that required extra reinforcement and playability.  She later joined the Conn-Selmer company where she continued to work in the factory.

Morgan Walker worked in the marketing side of the sports industry before being hired by Korg USA, in 2014, to focus on public relations and managing special events. She grew in her position, becoming the Director of Market and Communications for Korg. With a steady stream of innovative products from Korg’s brands, Morgan takes great pride in the work she does to bring those products to their customers. Morgan is also a Council Member for Women of NAMM (WoN) and played a key role in the WoN leadership summit in October 2022. WoN is dedicated to increasing female representation in t

Maureen Wall credits the dedicated teachers who provided her with private lessons for shaping her musical path. Starting piano at age six and moving on to double bass by sixth grade, Maureen’s teachers also gave her opportunities to perform outside of school, which greatly enriched her experience. She was the youngest bass player at the Manhattan School of Music, and her dual talents in business development and music performance led her to Johnson String Instrument in Newton, Massachusetts. Over the years, her role has evolved, but her focus remains on training staff to reach thei

June Wang is very proud of her company, Pearl River.  She is an outstanding spokesperson for the China-based piano manufacturer.  In fact, it was Ms. Wang who assisted the NAMM Oral History team to conduct an interview with the then-chairman, Zhi Cheng Tong back in 2006.

Elizabeth Ward and her husband, Dale Probst, brought their love of pianos and their backgrounds as tuner and technicians together to form Ward & Probst Piano & Organ Service in Wichita Falls, Texas. Since she was a young girl, the piano has been a big part of her life.  Her father established the Kelly Ward Piano & Organ Store, where she cut her teeth as a technician.  Since 1975, Elizabeth has been an active member of the Piano Technicians Guild.  In 1984, she was asked by Kimball Piano Company to service both Kimball and Bösendorfer concert grands that were provided

Carol Warden learned all she knows about the music industry from her mother and father who opened Dale Music Company in Silver Springs, MD. Over the years she has built on the lessons she learned from her mother about expanding the store’s products and the great care and service the store’s staff has always provided to their customers. Carol has been a strong supporter of the local music education programs as well as industry organizations critical for the growth and development of music advocacy such as RPMDA.

Virginia Waring began her musical career as a concert pianist. In fact, it was while performing a duet piano performance on the Fred Waring Radio Program that she first met her future husband. Fred Waring had a remarkable music career that covered radio, television, recordings, and music publishing. Virginia played a key role in the print company, Shawnee Press as president before selling the business after her husband’s death. Her NAMM Oral History interview was completed on February 1, 2006. 

Ellen Warmoth and her husband, William, created a true “Mom and Pop” music store when they opened Artisan Guitars in Franklin, Tennessee, not far from Nashville.  The store has a wonderful family feeling in both the layout and their attention to details, which may explain why so many Nashville musicians can be spotted playing an instrument such as the mandolin, ukulele and guitar.  Ellen’s love of the industry and her customers is a big part of the store’s success as her passion seems contagious.

Cathy Watkins worked for Mississippi Music for over 35 years! Although she spent much of her time in the Purchasing Department, Cathy played a vital role in the organization’s Wholesale Division, Eagle Distributors. She worked very closely with the two founders, Mac and Jimmy Johnson, and even shared an office with Miss Mac for several years. Her late husband, Gil, was the store’s top salesman from 1988 until 1997. Cathy’s friendships with her coworkers was a contributing factor to the family feeling at Mississippi Music.

Phyllis Webb and her husband, Dale, formed The Magic Fluke Company in 1999.  The company began making ukuleles in the basement of their home in New Hartford, Connecticut. They were inspired and encouraged by Phyllis’s brother, Jim Beloff, an accomplished musician and guitarist who discovered the uke a few years earlier. Jim realized anyone interested in playing the uke back then had very little to choose from.  Dale set out to design a full line of ukuleles including the Fluke, which played a vital role in the world wide craze in popularity of the uke in the early 2000s.

Jennifer Weiss listened closely to the stories her aunt and mother would tell about working in the CF Martin Guitar factory as she grew up. She followed in their footsteps first in the string department with her mom and aunt and then developed building skills to become a luthier for the company. Moving into management, Jennifer worked in quality assurance before taking on the role of Director of International Manufacturing, which she thoroughly enjoys. Jennifer participated in the 2023 Women of NAMM (WoN) leadership summit.

Kitty Wells has been crowned the First Lady of Country Music for her pioneering style and impressive string of hit recordings beginning in the 1940s and continuing into the mid 1960s. For most of her life, she had also been a regular on the tour schedule along with her husband, Johnny Wright. Ms. Wells was one of the very first female country performers to endorse a musical instrument, the Martin Guitar. This fact was acknowledged by the guitar company, which honored her with a signature model in the 1990s. Her impact on country music may never be fully realized, but calling her t

Bitsie Werlein was the last president of the famed Werlein’s For Music in New Orleans. When its doors closed in 2003 it was the nation’s oldest operating music retailer. The company was established in 1862 during the Civil War when the Union Navy blockaded New Orleans harbor. During her years as president the company experienced the great home organ boom of the 1970s and the synthesizer popularity of the 1980s. Bitsie was interviewed on the very day the store closed for the last time. 

Rose Wernes Drake traveled with her husband, Ivor, when he became the second salesperson hired for the Winter Piano Company following World War II. He often said the company got two for the price of one as she soon became as good an asset to the company as he was. It was Ivor’s idea to train her on all aspects of the business and she traveled with him on most every trip. She got to know his many accounts and became friends with many of the retailers and their wives. Together they became one of the most recognized couples in the industry before Ivor passed away in the early 1970s.

Eleanor West and her husband Pearl established a music store in Iowa City just a year after getting married in 1940. Eleanor was the bookkeeper in the early years of West Music Company and was known to make a penny last during the Great Depression and World War II. She also played an important role with her husband in the Scull Groups by expanding the goals of the sharing group to help improve the business of its members. Her son Steve served as Chairman of NAMM from 2001-2003 and daughter Sheri was the founding director of the NAMM Foundation’s  Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad

Kelly Wheeler and her husband Dorsey run a music retail business in Idaho with several locations. Dorsey Music was established in 1969 and just three years later Kelly walked through the doors looking to buy a guitar. She soon began working in the store before they were married a few years later. One of her first impressions of the broader music industry was attending the NAMM Show with Dorsey in 1975. Among the highlights for her from that Chicago show was being in a small room with just a few people and watching Les Paul perform!

Katie Wheeler was an early volunteer of the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in the NAMM headquarters in Carlsbad, California.  Her docent experience with the museum gave Katie the opportunity to work across the lobby in the NAMM Resource Center.  Her personal interest in documentation and organization was the perfect fit in the early days of cataloging the archival collection.  Katie continued to play a very valuable role in finding aid documents for most of the companies and music stores within the collection for searching and easy reference. She passed away in July 2025