King Musical Instruments
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 industry leaders with the mission to make music programs available to all students. Leaning on his own experiences,...
Marty Sheller was the award winning arranger and jazz trumpeter whose musical skills can be heard on hundreds of recordings. He worked with Mongo Santamaria for many years (yes, that is Marty taking the trumpet solo on “Watermelon Man”) beginning in 1961. Marty was also the house arranger for Fania...
Dave Woodruff began working for King Band Instruments right out of college. He began in the personnel department and Human Resources before becoming involved with the production of the instruments. As a King musician himself, Dave has always been very proud of his role with the company and the...
Mark Gifford was a band instrument repairman before he joined the King Band Instrument Company, now known as Conn-Selmer. The factory, located outside of Cleveland, Ohio produces a long line of brass instruments, some of which Mark had a hand in designing. The reputation of the company, which...
Jim Anastasi served as the trumpet tester for the King Band Instrument factory in Cleveland, Ohio for nearly 40 years. While testing some 200 instruments a day, Jim worked with some noted musicians including Harry James and Dizzy Gillespie. In addition to his factory work, Jim was a lifelong...
Pete Cumming began playing a King trombone as a student, never dreaming he would one day work for the company. Growing up outside of Cleveland, Ohio, not far from the King factory, Pete knew much about the famous instruments. After college he briefly worked in the field of Architecture. His...
Grady Gaines jumped onto the piano during a gig with Little Richard and wailed on his saxophone back in the early 1950s. The photograph of that event has become iconic as it represents the rhythm and blues roots of rock and roll. Grady played his King saxophone with hundreds of artists over the...
Bill Price was active in the band instrument business after being involved with other industries and as a result has a very unique and positive perspective on the music industry. Bill was hired to join CG Conn by his longtime friend Bill Cordier. Together they had an interest in purchasing the...
Mary Henkin was well known in the band and orchestra business as the hostess with the mostest. Along with her husband, Danny, they put on extravagant parties that were still talked about 30 years later. However, what many may not know is that she was half owner of all of her husband's musical...
Jerry Pellegrino wanted to own a business ever since he was a kid, so when the opportunity arose to start his own music store, he jumped at the chance. With a small loan and the help of several local school band directors, Jerry started serving the orchestra programs in the Canton, Ohio area. Over...