Baldwin Piano Company
Delwin Fandrich, as a teenager, often spent time with his older brother Darrell, who was a piano technician. Delwin slowly developed his own skills with the trade and focused on learning all he could about the design of the pianos he worked on. After serving in the US Air Force during the Vietnam...
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, Mike has sold his share of instruments! He played guitar in the US Navy Band during the Vietnam War era and among...
Gene Haugh began his career as a factory worker for the Baldwin Piano Company in Arkansas making parts for the electric organ. Gene was hired by the DH Baldwin Company in 1966 and in just two years was promoted to the plant’s supervisor. He left Baldwin in 1981 and soon began building Sho-Bud pedal...
Tom Mathis spent over 50 years in the piano business! Just think of how many instruments he must have sold and all the music currently being made thanks to him! He developed his sales style while working for two legendary stores (Wooten Music and Smith-Holden) before opening his own store in 1979,...
Dan Slick grew up in Johnstown, PA playing the family’s upright piano but soon switched his focus to the organ. He began his career in the music industry working at Fulton Piano and Organ and has since worked with several other companies over the years including Baldwin and Technics. In 1984 he and...
Jim Foldvary was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and was exposed to music at young age since his father was a violinist. Jim took up the guitar with some of his friends and remembers playing shows and school dances when he was younger. His first job was on the floor of the Stock Exchange at 17...
Craig Doerge played keyboards in the famous group of Los Angeles based studio musicians known as The Section. The Section, which also included Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel and Danny Kortchmar, recorded a string of hit records with artists such as James Taylor, David Crosby, Jackson Browne and Linda...
Vic Russelavage was hired by Chuck Levin as a repairman while Vic was playing his trumpet professionally. Chuck became a mentor and encouraged Vic to focus on the details and to take as much time with each customer as needed. As a result, Vic was inspired to open his own repair shop, which became a...
Betty Comer has owned and operated Gibson’s Music in Corbin, Kentucky since 1969. When asked about the store, Betty fondly describes Gibson’s as “the Mom and Pop store but just with the Mom” as Betty has single-handily ran the business since it opened its doors. Betty sat down for her NAMM Oral...
Al Slivinski was in the third grade when a salesman visited his school with the pitch “you too can be an accordion player!” Al developed great techniques on the accordion that served him well when he began playing the organ in high school, which he continued throughout college. He sold pianos and...