Band Directors
Larry Westland set out to give a few music students a chance to play. He worked long and hard to gain support to create the Music for Youth School Programs in the UK, which was established in 1971. During enrollment in the Fall 2005 program, the two millionth student got the chance to make music....
John H. Beck has an amazing talent for explaining the art of music making, not just teaching music, but providing meaning to the student in ways that fuel their passion. As the principal timpanist for the Rochester Philharmonic and a well-respected professor at the Eastman School of Music, John H...
Neil Grant worked with Alto Tatum long enough to understand some of the magic behind the man who defined music retail in Texas. Well respected and often sought out for advice and ideas, Alto gained the reputation few have in the business. Neil felt blessed to have had such a mentor. Neil took...
Richard Bennett served many roles during his long career in music, perhaps most notably as the sales rep for Wurlitzer towards the end of the 1960s. His involvement in retail and his philosophy on customer service have had a lasting effect on his success and the success of the dealers he would call...
Denny Senseney is a passionate music retailer who began his career as a band director. When he formed Senseney Music in 1984, he sought to provide the service to band directors that he felt was missing when he was an educator. Over the years Denny has played a vital role within the industry serving...
Nick Peck’s entire face lights up whenever he talks about a great school music program! The son of a band director, the passion seems to be in his blood. After taking over the store his father started in Greenville, South Carolina, Nick joined the NAMM board in 1969. He rose to the top becoming...
James Saied, the founder of the Saied Music Store chain in Oklahoma loved the marches of John Phillip Sousa! In fact, he liked them so much that he teamed with then NAMM President Ziggy Coyle to create the bill Ronald Reagan signed into law in 1983 making the “Stars and Strips Forever” the national...
Martin Denny cornered the market on the musical style of the early 1950s known as exotica. The smooth melody of the songs were enhanced by hundreds of different tropical sounding instruments, jungle noises and the call of birds. Martin began his musical career as a composer and piano playing...
Jack Hyde was the classic music retailer of the 21st Century. Jack opened a store in the mid 1950s because he loved music, plain and simple. The store, in Northern California, became such a success that he soon opened a chain of Jack’s House of Music stores. His mall store at Arden Arcade in...
Jimmy Cheatham was one of the coolest jazz cats in the industry. Having worked with many of the top jazz players such as Duke Ellington and Ornette Coleman, Jimmy brought the sounds of traditional jazz to film scores and television programs over several decades. Jimmy’s warm personality was only...