Henry Barnes is a wonderful example of the type of luthier and repair technician you want working on your musical instruments. With a background in building guitars for Charvel, Grover Ja...
Philip Springer utilized his classical piano training to pen hit songs during a long and celebrated career making music. As a result his tunes often incorporated elements of sophisticatio...
Sylvia Tyson wrote songs that a generation sang, and she also recorded songs by other songwriters which helped define the Folk Music revival of the 1960s. In 1962 she wrote “You Were On M...
T. Bruce Wittet is the widely read drum journalist who began his musical passion playing harmonica. His love for all things music led him to an exciting career playing in the school’s jaz...
Denny Coiro spent over 40 years of his career in the piano industry. As a salesman, Denny worked for several stores over the years and had some wonderful experiences bringing a new instru...
Dennis Coffey was a member of the studio musicians at Motown known as the Funk Brothers. Dennis recorded a string of hits with the group in the 1960s and 70s. He later joined the songwrit...
Bob Carbone is the co-founder of the Piano & Organ Center in Syracuse, New York. The store has a reputation for their quality products as well as creative lesson programs, which are o...
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...
Jonathan Tunick’s impressive career began with taking piano lessons as a kid and later learning the clarinet and saxophone. Attending LaGuardia Performing Arts High School and working wit...
Harold Wheeler remembers standing in front of the large orchestra about to raise his hands to conduct when it hit him - "I am at the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Olympics!" That epic mo...
Peter Schwartz is a pianist, composer, and synthesist who has worked for KORG on such projects as the M1, Wavestation, Prophecy and OASYS. After a wonderful experience with his classical ...
Dave Pearlman grew up listening to his father play horn and his mother playing acoustic guitar. His father actually had a recording studio in Plainview, TX! Dave started his musical journ...
Seymour Bernstein shared great insight into his career and life in music during his NAMM Oral History interview. He proudly spoke of the first moment he put his hands on the white keys of...
McKinley Jackson’s impressive discography includes his studio work as a trombonist as well as his songwriting and arranging for Motown, Hot Wax and other labels. His band, The Politicians...
Les Deutsch is a Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientist in the aerospace industry who holds several patents for electronic musical instruments. His father, Ralph Deutsch, invited the s...
Sylvester Rivers has applied his musical talents to thousands of hit recordings over the years as well as music for television and motion pictures. His list of credits includes several ca...
Ron McMaster grew up in the Sacremento area and joined a rock band while still in school. The band went through a few name changes before settling on Public Nuisance. They released a sing...
David Sancious always had records playing in his home growing up and his dad would take him to jazz clubs when he was just a child to sit by the stage so he could see the piano player. As...
Andrea Young is the daughter of jazz trombonist James “Trummy” Young. As a child, she rode in the band bus with her father who at the time was a member of Louie Armstrong’s All Stars. As ...
Mike Vaccaro is a true piano salesman veteran! Having worked in the piano business for over 40 years, selling for several retail stores and running his own dealership for over 20 years, M...
John Maier had parents that were both singers and would often hang out at the theater where his parents would perform. He used to get in trouble for tapping his pencil during tests and wo...
Tony Newton was nicknamed “Baby Funk Brother” by the original studio musicians at Motown Records where he began working in 1964. His first session with the Funk Brothers was the song “Bab...
Bob Baca teaches trumpet and is the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, where he approaches his teaching from not only the standpoint of a musician but fro...
Peggy Dahl-Bartunek grew up with four siblings who all took piano lessons – they even had two pianos in their house! Since the fifth grade, Peggy knew that she wanted to be a teacher and ...
Daniel Haver was heavily influenced by the music he heard at home as a kid and wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an entrepreneur. He combined his love of music with hi...
Dave Hill was always playing with electronics as a kid and also had a great love for music. He played drums in bands throughout high school but was always more interested in the science b...
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...
Gayle Levant is the award-winning harpist who became the first woman to serve as President of the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC) which was formed in 1938! In 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...
Paul Riser Sr. was given important musical training when he was in school, which helped set the direction of his career as a trombonist and later as an arranger. He was hired as a trombon...
