Band and Orchestra
David Kolacny has a remarkable family history steeped in bringing music to others. His grandfather took over a small music store in Denver in 1930 and since that time the store and its staff have served music makers of all ages. His father focused on trumpet repairs and David too found his own...
Debra Kolacny began playing the organ at the age of eight, not knowing a life of music was ahead of her. She joined her junior high school band as a percussionist and in high school focused on theater arts, where she met her future husband, David. His grandfather started Kolacny Music in Denver,...
Heath Mathews is the Senior Vice President of Content & Licensing for Peaksware Music, which includes MakeMusic and Alfred Music. Heath joined MakeMusic in 2007 with a focus on developing the repertoire for the SmartMusic platform. Heath takes great pride in his contributions to the platform,...
Seth Strickland had a wonderful grade school music teacher who was a great inspiration for him. Seth played saxophone throughout high school and in the jazz band. He later performed in a local blues band and whenever he needed a reed or a repair, he always went to Roper Music in Grand Junction,...
Kris Kjeldgaard finished her degree with a music major and a minor in business and went job seeking. She was not sure what the direction of her career would take and in fact, looking back, did not see what was to come. She interviewed for a job at Roper Music and soon was hired. She tried her hand...
Pat Emmett has had a whirlwind of a musical career! He began playing trombone in junior high school and even took lessons while serving in the US Navy. After earning a degree at North Texas University in their jazz program, Pat hit the road with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, which at that time was...
Dale Dawalt admits he knew little about band instruments being a guitarist when he first joined the team at San Diego County Music Exchange in 1990. He was however, eager to learn and he had a fantastic mentor, Dan Parker. Dan opened the store in 1988 and after selling the store to Dale a few years...
Rafael Perez played a variety of instruments at an early age. He played saxophone in his school’s marching and jazz bands and with several local groups as a teenager. Right out of high school he was hired to play in Solomon Burke’s band as they played New Years' Eve 2000 in Italy. That and other...
Jeff Bertrand is the president of the music company his parents started back in 1983. His father, John Sr., a former band director wanted to provide much-needed support and supplies to schools in his local area, which was San Bernadino, California. Jeff began working in the store cleaning clarinets...
Dustin Barlow is the head instrument repair technician for Bertrand’s Music in San Marcos, California. He joined the store in 2006 and has since become the repair shop manager as well as one of their repairman. His love of musical instrument repair started when he was still in high school when he...