Band and Orchestra
Sally Duane was born the same year her brother started McMillan Music outside of Philadelphia. She is the epitome of “growing up” in the business and has early memories of filling bottles of the company’s valve oil and containers of cork grease for mouthpieces. She stayed on when the company moved...
Tim Dawson was inspired by his mother, a band director. All of her children played a musical instrument and Tim found the trombone! After serving as a band director for three years, Tim found an opportunity at Paige’s Music to continue his passion for music while helping to develop band programs at...
John Stoner came into the music products industry as an outsider when he joined the Conn-Selmer team in the early 2000s. As a father of a band student, he took part in fundraising and supporting his daughter's musical education while, at the same time, understanding the importance of music in a...
Steve Purcell grew up in a musical family and knew at a young age he wanted a life in music. After earning his degree, Steve was hired as a band director in 1977. Three years later he was encouraged to take a job at Paige’s Music calling on schools and helping band directors. He loved the idea of...
Beth Houlihan often reflects on the important role her mother played in establishing the family owned music store along with her father in 1974. Beth took note of the way her mother kept the books and worked with customers and suppliers, which has served her as President of Kidder Music. She has...
Trevor Austin has encouraged and assisted countless young musicians for over half a century as the director of the Rosehill Instrument stores in England. His passion for playing goes back to when he was a child and hearing instrumental music. Trevor later became a top level euphonium player and...
Nigel Clark began taking oboe lessons when he was seven years old. By the age of 17 Nigel started working in the music industry for an oboe reed making company Harry Baker ( oboe reeds) ltd. In 1973 he was able to buy, with partners, the small oboe making company T W Howarth & co Ltd., from...
Masato Horibe is proud of the origins of his company, which date back to 1917 when Mr. Niimi opened a small store in Japan. He first began selling phonograph needles and later brought into the harmonica. After World War II, school band instruments became a major focus of the business, helping the...
John Rogers provided an in-depth overview of the Paxman Company during his NAMM Oral History interview, which happened to have taken place as the company was celebrating 100 years in business during the 2019 NAMM Show. John explained that the company started when Harry Paxman opened a small retail...
Rob Hanson joined the brass band as a school kid in a small town in England. When looking for a job Rob turned to John Packer, who owned and operated the instrument company that provided Rob his horns growing up. Time after time John reported that he did not have a job for Rob. Finally, Rob said he...