KC Darrell always felt that his father was his best friend. They two opened a series of music stores in New Hampshire over the years, working side by side for over 40 years. KC learned th...
Ken Dattmore is the Marketing Manager for Yamaha within the strings department, which has been his passion for his entire career. He started in the industry with the William Lewis & ...
Khristian Dentley is the baritone for the singing group Take 6. The group was formed in 1980 and Khristian joined the group in 2011. During their career the group has sold millions of r...
Bud DiFluri enjoyed a long and successful career in the music industry in both retail and manufacturing. He managed the Yamaha band and orchestra department in New York City with a focus ...
Yohsihiro Doi joined Yamaha in 1980 and worked in retail for the company for two years before transferring to the wholesale department within the musical instrument division. Doi-san work...
David Durben grew up in Fargo, North Dakota where he forged a career as a piano technician. After forming Durben Piano Services, David worked with area schools and churches as well as the...
Roger Eaton recalled with a smile the day he joined the school band as a child. His first impression and the feeling of joy has never left him, which is why he has dedicated his life to ...
LaRoy Edwards was the celebrated piano technician who began his long association with Yamaha back in 1961, the year before the company officially entered the United States market. Along t...
Dr. Lou Fischer has applied his love of music, his talents as a musician and his vast experiences on the road and in the studio to encourage students of all ages. Lou taught at Capital Un...
Joseph Fox knew his great grandmother, Sarah, who along with her husband Otto, formed Fox Music House in South Carolina back in 1928. She was a great inspiration to Joseph who grew up kno...
Lori Frazer’s mother taught piano and organ, which was the foundation for her own passion for music. When Lori was a small child, her mother purchased a piano for the home, which later w...
Hitoshi Fukutome has enjoyed a long and interesting career at the Yamaha Corporation. He joined Yamaha in 1982 and has served in many roles for the company over the years including Manag...
Jim Funada has dedicated the past four decades to serving the music products industry with passion and commitment. His journey began at the Yamaha Corporation, where he delved into keyboa...
Steve Gadd has a long and strong friendship with the music products industry going back to his first visit to a music store as a kid and his long career as a product endorser and NAMM gue...
Edward Garbett was the founder of the Progressive Music store in McKeesport Pennsylvania in the years following World War II. He worked for Gretsch as Educational Director and a decade l...
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...
Mike Garson was classically trained on the piano and contributed greatly to jazz and rock as well as his own “now music” style. Mike’s passion for music is evident in everything he plays ...
Terry Gibbs seems to live for the vibes! As a legendary jazz percussionist, Terry’s power and unique style of mallet playing has singled him out as one of the top vibraphonists in the his...
Garth Gilman finished his MBA and through a mutual friend met Tom Sumner who provided a tour of the Yamaha offices in Buena Park. Tom, who at the time was the General Manager of the Pro ...
Ralph Grierson’s father was a sawmill operator who loved playing music after work and on the weekends. As Ralph grew up, his father encouraged him to develop a career in music. After coll...
DeDe Guth joined the customer service team at Yamaha’s band instrument factory in Michigan in 1980. There she learned first hand the company’s philosophy and attention to customer satisfa...
Wolfgang Haffner grew up in Germany and began playing drums at a young age. He gravitated towards jazz and one of his first recordings was with Al Cohn in 1987. He went on to record with ...
Charles Hale had an idea to hire a monkey to show how an easy-play organ could be operated by anyone. The hysterically funny ads were one of a million clever ideas Hale used in selling ke...
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...
Robert Heller worked in the music industry as a teenager in retail and discovered that he was drawn to the industry with his passion and love for music and music making. Bob was hired by ...
Gary Hobbs is a third generation professional drummer. His grandfather Harry led several big bands during the Great Depression era and his father, who later became a strong leader within ...
Brian Jemelian didn't think of himself as a musician, although he played violin as a child and later as an employee of Yamaha he took both piano and guitar lessons. Brian studied busines...
Akira Jimbo, a drummer out of Japan, has been playing drums since he was 17. Akira has released over 10 solo albums throughout his career and has demonstrated a passion for education thro...
Simon Jones has a rich background with the guitar, which has come full circle with his role with the Yamaha Guitar Group. As a teenager he played, and even built his own guitar to play wi...
Marjorie Jones and her husband opened the Bill Jones Music store in Knoxville, Tennessee back in 1973. She joined Bill full-time in 1989 after raising their children, and in 2011, Marjori...
Mitsuo Kasahara served as the first president of Yamaha Corporation of America after setting up the branch office in Southern California in 1961. Three years earlier he established the f...