Band and Orchestra
Richard Carlson spoke in a soft and sincere tone when he described the family feeling working at Wurlitzer in DeKalb, Illinois. Dick joined the company that proclaimed “Wurlitzer Means Music to Millions” as a sales representative in 1955. He traveled to music retail stores to fulfill their products...
Curtis Pearson served proudly during World War II and, upon returning to the United States, was told of a sales job at the Poole Music Company. After several successful years and getting the bug to sell, Curtis formed the first of seven music stores in North Carolina called Pearson's Music. The...
Charles Gorby was a true visionary for the music products industry and the founder of Gorby Music in West Virginia. As a lone store retailer, Charlie was a regular attendee at the NAMM shows beginning in the 1940s when the industry was trying to get back in swing after World War II. He spoke at a...
Jerry Gorby followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a passionate advocate for music and music making. Jerry worked in the family music store, Gorby Music, in West Virginia, later becoming president of the store. Along the way, he was noted for his keen interest in preserving history and...
Walt Ostermeyer had a solution to the complaint of millions of school age music students who came into his music retail store, the wood reed tastes yucky. Walt designed a series of reeds with a variety of flavors such as cherry and watermelon. The idea caught on and he soon established the Flavor...
Vic Firth was a classically trained timpanist, playing with a number of highly regarded symphonies around the world. Over the years he developed a few ideas that improved on the way mallets and drumsticks perform and sound. As founder of the company that carries his name, Vic designed and marketed...
Denny Senseney is a passionate music retailer who began his career as a band director. When he formed Senseney Music in 1984, he sought to provide the service to band directors that he felt was missing when he was an educator. Over the years Denny has played a vital role within the industry serving...
Roger White’s cousin opened a small music store in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 1955. His brother, Jerry, ran the store beginning in 1961 and changed the name to the White House of Music. Roger joined his brother as a salesman in 1967. Roger had the vision to grow and develop the school music business...
Robert Saied took great inspiration from his father, James. Robert’s father formed the Saied Music Company in Tulsa, OK in 1946 after serving as a band director in various schools in the area. Robert helped expand the store to several locations as well as participate in music industry organizations...
Eleanor West and her husband Pearl established a music store in Iowa City just a year after getting married in 1940. Eleanor was the bookkeeper in the early years of West Music Company and was known to make a penny last during the Great Depression and World War II. She also played an important role...