Kitten is the mascot at Candyman Strings & Things in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Watching customers walk into the store and immediately smile when they see Kitten is a joy to witness. Her p...
Jono Manson is the owner of The Kitchen Sink Recording Studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As a record producer and engineer, he has collaborated on projects ranging from national advertising...
Jeff Nelson's mother was a sought-after pianist who had a regular gig in San Francisco playing at the Top of the Mark. As a kid, Jeff took lessons from a woman who had the best name for a...
Karen Lafferty played an important role in the early growth and development of Contemporary Christian Music. She put music to the Bible verse Matthew 6:33 in 1974, thus creating the early...
Francesca Jozette Tharpe was so thrilled to have a role in her school's choir. The experience gave her a musical outlet and self-confidence, which led to her involvement with Musical Thea...
Jayda Cook grew up in her parent's music store, Candyman Strings & Things in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and she always had a passion for the educational component of the business. Jayda to...
Honoring Larry Morton for his invaluable service in assisting the NAMM Resource Center in obtaining fantastic interview contributions to the NAMM Oral History Program. This video contains...
This video is of our annual NAMM Tribute, created in honor of our members and music industry friends who passed away since our last gathering. This video was part of our annual program, ...
Chelsie Reed is the Marketing Coordinator for the store her parents, Cindy and Rand Cook, own and operate. Candyman Strings & Things was formed in 1969 by Matthew Schwartzman and late...
Micky Patten, a lifelong musician who studied Jazz in College, always wanted to provide a space for musicians to shop for gear and feel comfortable. With that vision and dream, Micky open...
Ryan Clement was among the first employees at Grandma’s Music in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Established by Micky Patten in 1986, the store gained a strong reputation for selling pro audio a...
Doug Lawrence was first musically inspired by his father, a woodwinds player. However, at a young age he watched as his older brothers’ professional careers developed and Doug had tunnel ...
Dennis Alexander has sought to engage and inspire music makers at all levels throughout his long and successful career as a music educator. As a professor of music with a focus on pedagog...
Mike White grew up in the Boston area where he was inspired by his band directors. While studying music in college in New Mexico, Mike was focused on becoming a band director himself. He ...
Dan King was exposed to music at a young age. His brother played in band and as soon as he could, Dan himself began playing trumpet in his school band. He joined the US Marines and while ...
Ricia King as a child took piano lessons from the mother of future Yamaha Marketing Manager Roger Eaton (fun fact). Ricia has always loved music and because she grew up in her father’s Ka...
Cindy Quinlan was once introduced at a NAMM meeting as “the boss lady” and the nickname stuck. She met her future husband, George Quinlan Jr., at a NASMD meeting in 1983. She was there on...
Johnna Meyer loves the look on the faces of young students when they make a sound for the first time with a musical instrument! Taking part in band night at the schools Meyer Music serves...
Fumio Mieda was hired by the founder of KORG, Tsutomu Katoh, back in 1967. Mieda-san began working on a number of innovations as he hoped to improve the function of electronic organs. The...
John Meyer grew up in the music business and can remember as a child playing under one of the pianos in the family-owned store his grandparents opened in 1966. His father, Mike, never pus...
Larry Redhouse grew up in a house with six siblings who were all, like their mother, very musical. The family formed a musical act, the Redhouse Band, in the late 60s. The band played a l...
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 ofte...
John Fulton has had a very interesting ascent to his position as Vice President of Sales for Conn-Selmer. He started taking violin lessons in the fourth grade, at first to get out of clas...
Sandy Goff, co-owner of Paige's Music, has had many first-hand experiences witnessing the importance of music education in the lives of young students as well as the passion for music so ...
Established in 1999, the NAMM Oral History Collection is unique, unlike any other collection in the world. The heart of the collection is the depth of its narratives that cover innovative...
Wes Sutton has a background as a musician and a welder and wasn’t too sure about an opening at King Music Company in Brownwood, Texas, but he was looking for a change so he took a chance....
Mike Kamphuis is perfectly suited for his position as Vice President, Division of Education at Conn-Selmer in Elkhart, Indiana. His role allows him to work closely with educators and indu...
John Jarvis is the president and owner of the music retail store in Florida, Music Man. His father was a band director back in 1944 who retired to Florida in 1973 and opened a small store...
George Reeder and his wife, Lynn, are the owners of Rovner Products, which produces ligatures, mouthpieces and other accessories for musical instruments. The company was established in th...
Lynn Reeder did not become actively involved in music until her mid-40’s after receiving a gift certificate for voice lessons from her husband George and son Alex, although an avid listen...
