Band and Orchestra
Charles Urban knows horns! As the former president of American Plating, he has worked with all of the top brass instrument makers in perfecting the art of plating instruments. Chuck is also very proud to have been in the music products industry, having made many friends along the way. He is also...
Don Hogue worked with Dr. Kent in the C.G. Conn Research Department. The historic lab created or improved many mathematical and engineering theories that had been used in countless musical instrument designs. Don is particularly proud of the Stroboconn, as it served as the first tool to measure...
Elizabeth Ludwig-Fennell was always surrounded by music. As a child, she played piano. As a young adult, she helped develop the Ludwig Music Publishing Company. She later married the founder. Upon her husband’s passing, she took over the business during an era when women seldom were involved in the...
David Seville loved the music industry because he loved music! He was born in Birmingham UK and became a well-known opera singer both in recordings and such live performances as Wells Cathedral. During our interview, he recalls his transition from singing to a long and enjoyable career with Selmer...
Michael Doughty can speak of the history of the British music industry more than most. After all, it was his father and his grandfather before him who first started selling musical instruments over 100 years ago. As president of Stentor Music Company, Mr. Doughty recalled his teen years and the...
Owen McPeek always wanted to play music, so he found several day jobs that allowed him to play music at night. He ran Rush’s Music on Alcoa Highway in Knoxville, Tennessee, for over a decade beginning in the late 1960s. The full line store pioneered in providing pro-audio gear to its customers....
William Brilhart grew up in a house of music. His father, Arnold Brilhart, was the jazz saxophonist who established a mouthpiece and accessories company and introduced innovative products to the music products industry. His mother was a world-renowned harpist who traveled the world and made several...
Robert Brilhart is the eldest of the sons of mouthpiece pioneer Arnold Brilhart. Arnold was a well-known saxophonist in the early days of recorded jazz and throughout the Big Band Era. All the while, Arnold kept making small adjustments to his equipment such as his mouthpieces, mutes, and even...
Ziggy Kanstul knew more about brass instruments than most people. As an important part of the manufacturing end of the FE Olds Company, Ziggy became an expert on model designs, the specifications for each and every product, and the measurements of the horns made by their competitors. He later...
Del Courtney was among the most popular Big Band leaders of the golden age of swing. Getting his start in the Al Hill Orchestra, Del soon found fame when he formed his own band at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, Calif., in 1939. He established himself as "The Old Smoothie" and created a band ideal...