Band Directors
Richard Ellis was proud of the three main areas of his professional career; playing, teaching and selling musical instruments. As a teenager Richard traveled with a big band, playing dances during the Swing Era. He later taught music at several levels as well as directed the local community band....
John Bertrand Sr. has thoroughly enjoyed bringing music to the lives of young students. As a band director in the early part of his career he taught and encouraged children at nearly every grade level. As music retailer (he opened his first store in 1983) John has played a vital role in promoting...
Ed Rizzuto was surrounded by music his entire life. As a young boy he started playing trombone, which he continued throughout high school and into his military service in the early 1950s. After teaching orchestra as a school band director for several years, Ed joined the music industry as a...
James Decker had been an active music maker ever since performing with his mother on radio broadcasts while he was a child. Over the years, he continued his pursuit of music study and eventually developed into one of the most sought-after symphonic hornists in the country. Jim later worked in...
Bill Tregoe drove over 1,300,000 miles over the 35 years that he was a sales rep for CG Conn and later King Musical Instruments. Along the way he made life long friends with many of the dealers and school directors he called on. As a trumpet student Bill took lessons at a Conn Music Store and later...
Russell Kephart enjoyed his years as a band director but found great satisfaction when he opened his own music store and could provide the service he felt band directors were missing. The Iowa-based store expanded over the decades but always remained focused on customer service. Russ served on the...
Randy Navarre loved teaching music as a band director. He composed works just for his own bands and even developed a few methods before ever thinking that his efforts could be published. While working with school band music, known as Northeastern Music Programs, he was given the opportunity to...
Himie Voxman was a band director nearly all his life. He studied chemistry in college but fell into music because jobs were hard for chemists to find in the days of the Great Depression. Since he had studied clarinet beginning when he was eight, he felt he could teach. Over his extensive musical...
Harry Carter was already a school band director when he opened a music store in Ottumwa, Iowa. The year was 1948 when Harry and two partners set out to develop a store that would specialize in customer service for band directors. As the store grew, Harry hired college friends and several buddies...
Michael Cooney taught music in the public schools in Massachusetts for over 25 years. During the time of his teaching he also established a high-end flute company in the early 1970s called Northeast Winds. Over the years the company built a worldwide reputation for quality of product with a special...