Band and Orchestra
John Jarvis is the president and owner of the music retail store in Florida, Music Man. His father was a band director back in 1944 who retired to Florida in 1973 and opened a small store three years later. As a result, John grew up in a very musical home. He played saxophone in his high school...
Leslie Stirm is the owner of the Instrumental Music Center in Tucson, Arizona. Joining the store in 2001, Leslie has helped develop the store’s team, which has a strong focus on customer service and a strong knowledge base on the products and instruments they sell. Leslie is also a strong advocate...
Gary Panton grew up in Niagara, New York, and played the drums and vibes in high school. It was there that he started his first band, a jazz trio. In 1970 he was hired by Dick Crino in Dunkirk, New York, to work in his small music store. While Gary started on the sales floor, he soon followed Dick’...
Ron Whittaker was just eleven years old when his father started a music retail store in Long Beach, California. Whittaker Music opened in 1946, just after World War II and Ron still remembers the struggles his father had in gaining instruments as manufacturers were still short on raw materials that...
Pam Aalbers is a wonderful example of the notion that it take a team to accomplish great things. Always working behind the scenes, Pam has been a steady support to the staff at Ted Brown Music in Tacoma since 1976. When she started working at the store she helped out in the mail room but soon...
Ellie Stevens has a smile that lights up the room. And when that room is the lobby of Ted Brown Music in Tacoma, people seem to feel right at home right when they walk in the door! As a kid she played the organ and in 1973, as a teenager, she was hired to play at the mall to entice customers to...
Philip Hodapp holds the unique position of providing hands-on support to dozens of school band directors as the director of school services for Beacock Music! As a lifelong musician, he started playing clarinet for his school band in the fifth grade. Philip is dedicated to the serving the needs of...
Barry Trobaugh gives great credit to his childhood music teachers and band directors for the passion and love he has for being a music educator. After receiving his bachelors degree from Memphis State University, he returned to earn his masters in school administration as he felt the latter would...
Brady Massey was so inspired by his music teachers and band directors while in school that he decided to follow in their footsteps. After receiving his bachelors in music education and his masters in composition, Brady’s first teaching job was in Turman, Arkansas. From the very first day in music...
Nick Averwater is part of the fourth generation of the Averwater family to be working at Amro Music in Memphis, TN. Nick fondly remembers his time as a kid running around the store and working odd-jobs for extra money. After obtaining his MBA with a focus in finance and completing an internship...