Oral History Interviews

Rose Karr's father worked for the founder of Cunningham Piano Company as a technician. When Mr. Cunningham passed away, Rose's father approached Mrs. Cunningham about his goals to continue the business.  Rose and her sister Doris grew up in the piano business and both worked in the company for years.  Doris became president when their father retired and Rose worked alongside her sister to continue the business as their father had.  Rose later hired others to run the store, but always kept appraised of the business even into her 80s.  Her love of the business and the people she wor

Greg Howren is the past president of his family's music store in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Greg followed in his father's footsteps and continued to build the music store, which focuses on school band programs as well as the combo business.  After his father was president of the company, his older brother Michael had that role, and his younger brother has the position now.  In addition to the store’s dedication to its customers, the staff has a strong reputation for their involvement within industry organizations such as NASMD.

Donald Hodges is a music educator who has taken on the research role to map the brain's responses to music.  His research has shown that music is not just a nice, but unnecessary element of the human life, but rather something that is necessary and very much a core part of the human experience.  As an orchestra director, Donald began wondering about the drive and passion he witnessed in so many of his students.  He has conducted several studies over the years to get closer to a better understanding of the role music plays within the human brain.

Calvin Grafton was very interested in the radio business as a youngster. His early jobs included radio repair but he knew he needed more for a solid business, so he opened his own music store in Pennsylvania in 1963. Grafton Music soon gained a respected reputation in and around the state and the company grew to include several locations as well as an expanded line of products.  Calvin's two sons and daughter later joined the business and added their unique business skills to continue in the tradition their father established.

Lynn Clapp opened a small guitar shop in the back of a piano store in 1967.  He later moved into his own building in Knoxville and called the place Lynn's Guitars.  The store was a hot spot for musicians and for those dreaming of being the next big star.  Lynn focused on lessons and over time expanded his product lines and accessories to service his growing customer base.  After his daughter, Amelia, joined in the company, the store name was changed to Broadway Sound, which by this time had a strong pro audio focus.  Amelia continued to run the store after Lynn's retirement in 201

Fred Buch has always been interested in combining electronic technology with pipe organs.  When he entered the pipe organ business in the 1957, electronic organs were not sufficiently advanced to provide a high quality pipe sound.  Fred added pianos and home organs in 1960 resulting in a three store operation. Hearing that the Rodgers Instrument Corp. was interested in combining electronics and pipes, Fred became a representative of Rodgers in 1972.   At that juncture, his company name was changed to Buch Church Organ Company to focus on pipe & electronic organ custom installa

Mark Amentt was brought into the music products industry to help direct the then, newly established AIMM group, to better serve its members.  The group soon grew as did its noted annual meetings, which take place the day before the Anaheim and Summer NAMM Shows begin.  In recent years, Mark joined the Casio USA team, which has been another ideal job for his knowledge of the industry, the products and his unwavering passion for music. An active musician, Mark still performs regularly on bass in and around the Philadelphia area with a wide variety of bands while still finding time t

Kerry King has become a regular artist that NAMM member retailers could meet during the trade shows. His career as a guitarist led to a number of product endorsements and several opportunities to provide feedback and design ideas for amps, guitars and accessories over the years.  In 1981, Kerry and Jeff Hanneman formed the thrash metal band Slayer.  The band released their first album, Show No Mercy, in 1983, about the same time he began attending the NAMM Shows.  Among his most noted partnerships and endorsement deals with manufacturers are Marshall Amps and BC Rich Guitars.  

Mac Yasuda played country music at an early age and fell in love with the style.  He organized a band in Japan dedicated to country music.  As his audiences grew, Mac was being asked more and more about where they too could get the type of guitars he was playing.  He soon began dealing in musical instruments and was a leader in collecting vintage guitar instruments, especially guitars made by Gibson.  He later grew his own collection to include banjos as well as costumes worn on stage by such icons as Hank Snow and Porter Wagoner.

Tom White is the President of the MIDI Manufacturing Association.  The organization was created following the 1983 introduction of MIDI at the NAMM Show.  Since that time Tom has created a strong mission along with strategies to grow the association.  The mission includes insuring interoperability of MIDI products through an open standards process with broad industry participation, to be proactive towards developing and enhancing MIDI to respond to market needs and to encourage the use of MIDI technology and MIDI products in established and growth markets.

Lars Wern is the Vice President of Em Nordic AB in Stockholm, Sweden, working alongside the company’s founder, Benny Englund.  In fact, during the 2013 NAMM Show in Anaheim, Lars and Benny were interviewed together and shared their love for the industry and spoke about some of the changes they witnessed during their careers.  Lars made his own guitars as a teenager and by 1964 he had met Benny and was hired to sell musical products, a dream job for Lars.

Thomas Weilbier is the President of No. 1 Guitar Center GmbH, which is located in the musical hub of Hamburg, Germany.  Thomas related some of the strong rock and roll history of the city and how his guitar shop was placed at the perfect location to grow over the decades as vintage instruments grew and the market for new instruments also continued to climb over the decades.

Rob Wallis began playing drums at the age of 10 when he took his Slingerland set (with a Kent silver snare drum) to the local Kiwanis Club for a battle of the bands with The Revised Edition. He performed in bands throughout elementary school, high school and college, and later played in clubs in New York City and on Broadway, while also recording numerous radio and TV jingles. In 1980, while studying at a drum school on 42nd Street in New York City, he learned the school, Drummers Collective, was for sale and took over in a partnership with Paul Siegel.

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.

Clemens Von Arnim is the CEO of Louis Renner & Co., producer of the Renner Action and Hammerheads for pianos, the company his great-grandfather was involved with from the very beginning.  Over the generations, Clemens family was always a part of the company and worked hard to expand the company.  The company is family owned and Clemens is very proud of the role his family has played within the music industry over the 130 plus years of service.

Siwei Zou is the founder and president of sE Electronics International Inc. He was born in Shanghai, China, and began playing at an early age. Siwei focused on Western classical music and composed both classical and popular music during the early part of his career. He played at the famed opera house in China and noticed as a young player that such orchestras needed better microphone products for recording. sE Electronics was formed in 2000 and focuses on innovative microphones and studio monitors.

Jerry Trestman grew up in a musical home, in fact his older brother played saxophone for several of the big bands during the swing era.  Jerry served in the Korean War and was stationed in Japan where he conducted several Japanese bands and played in small groups.  Jerry continued to play professionally after the war but soon realized the road would be too hard for him and decided to open a music store in 1962 in Minneapolis.  His brother later joined him in the small music store, which began to grow and expand in several key instrument categories during that time. Jerry sold the

Jim Tremayne is the editor of DJ Times magazine, a gig he landed just over two years after the publication began. DJ Times is the brainchild of industry publisher Vinny Testa, who was looking to reach out to the growing and unique DJ market when the magazine began in 1988. Jim has played a vital role in the growth of the magazine as well as the DJ Expos that Mr. Testa also created.

Pete Surowski is the founder of Pete’s Music store in Anaheim, California.  He often uses the tag line that his store is the closest music retailer to the Winter NAMM Show.  While performing as a professional musician, Pete was teaching lessons and decided to open his own store with a teaching studio.  He expanded the store to include combo and band and orchestra products as well as accessories.  His daughter, Cassie, grew up in the store and worked closely with Pete in growing the products and services they provide their customers.

Chuck Surack is the founder and president of Sweetwater Sound, one of the landmark companies within the music products industry.  He formed the company in 1979 and worked hard to gather the brands his customers wanted and to provide the care and service he himself would want.  Chuck has supported music educational and advocacy programs as well as serving the industry in such roles as on the NAMM Board of Directors and supporting the NAMM Oral History program over the years.  With all that he has done, Chuck continues to perform his saxophone, just as he always has.

Paul Siegel grew up in New York and was fascinated by the impressive record collection of his father, who turned Paul on to music.  Paul later began playing drums, got a kit and played in area bands.  His passion for music led him to attend the Drummers Collective school, which is where he met Rob Wallis in 1979.  The two purchased the school in 1980 and began to document the musicians who came to the school to present clinics and lessons.  As their collection of videos grew, so did the idea of making these lessons available to the many music makers who could not attend the school

Wayne Reinhardt began his musical retail career in 1971, with the same company he was working for at the time of his 2013 interview, Schmitt Music in Minnesota.  Wayne is proud of the opportunity he had in working with Bob Schmitt in the early part of his career as Bob was focused on expanding the company to several locations, which was exciting and challenging for Wayne.  In more recent years Wayne has enjoyed working with Bob’s two sons, one of which, Tom, became the CEO when Bob retired.  Just ask Wayne a question about musical products and watch his passion shine!

Zuzana Petrofova is the fifth generation in her family to operate the Petrof Piano Company, located in the Czech Republic.  Her great-great-grandfather formed the piano company in 1864 and since that time the Petrof name has been connected in many innovations and style designs that were firsts within the industry.  The Petrof line of pianos includes the renowned Masters Series grand pianos as well as upright instruments such as their P 135 KI Uprights.  She was appointed President of the company in 2004, the same year the company introduced the first MAA action within their pianos

Quincy Yu is a Senior Vice President for Tycoon Music, which his father, Stephen, established in 1984.  Quincy has played a vital part in the growth of the markets around the world with a focus on areas with little explorer to world hand percussive instruments such as the conga.  He has also helped to establish the United States office for Tycoon to better assist with the needs and requests of their American customer base.

Jan Petrof is the fourth generation in his family to operate the Petrof Piano Company, located in the Czech Republic.  Jan’s great grandfather formed the piano company in 1864 and since that time the Petrof name has been connected in many innovations and style designs that were firsts within the industry.  The Petrof line of pianos includes the renowned Masters Series grand pianos as well as upright instruments such as their P 135 KI Uprights.  Jan is very proud of the fact that his daughter, Zuzana, took over as president when he retired, making it now five generations and counti

Charlie Ollmann is the co-founder (with his wife) of the retail shop Music Connection in Minnesota.  They both taught music and had an opportunity to open their own store, with lesson rooms, and they jumped at the chance.  Music Connection was born in 1981.  The company is located in Forest Lake, Minnesota, where the company established itself as a local musical hub for professionals as well as beginners.  Throughout the three decades of business, Charlie is as passionate about music lessons as ever and is proud of the service the store is able to provide its customers.

Martin Kobza is an instrument designer for the Petrof Piano Company, located in the Czech Republic.  His unique skills as a piano designer and his knowledge of the strong company history, provides a great background for him to call on when he is working on new products and new innovations.  The piano company was established in 1864 and since that time the Petrof name has been connected to many innovations and style designs that were firsts within the industry.  Martin continues this esteemed tradition.

Jerry Hovey grew up in a musical home as his father was a professional drummer.  Jerry’s own love for music began at an early age but it wasn’t until he saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 that Jerry wanted to be in a rock band.  And he has been in such a band ever since.  He joined the Schmitt’s Music Company where he found he could support the school music programs, which have always been near and dear to his heart.  Jerry began working for Schmitt’s Music in 1972 and in fact retired from the company.  Jerry played in a rock band ever since the Beatle’s perf

Jerry Grote grew up in Minnesota and began playing guitar after seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964.  As a high school student, Jerry began visiting local music stores and discovered music retail.  One of the stores he visited was called The Guitar Center, not related to the chain, but ironically, some years later Jerry did work for that Guitar Center when the chain opened a store in the Twin Cities.  He may be the only person we have interviewed who has worked for both The Guitar Center and Guitar Center.  As his passion for music developed, Jerry was aske

Cassie Brueckner is the president of Pete’s Music store and the daughter of the founder.  She grew up in the Anaheim, California store, where she learned to repair musical instruments and developed her skills as the store manager to take charge when Pete had a professional gig.  As a brass player, Cassie is also a music teacher in the store, teaching trumpet and trombone.