Band and Orchestra
Sammy Nestico revolutionized the band and orchestra repertoire by composing and arranging top jazz charts for all levels of bands. As a result, this arranger of Count Basie’s band in the 1950s is as well known to music fans as he is to beginning music students in school bands. Along the way Sammy...
Kay McDowell now (and may always) holds the record for the most NAMM shows attended --83 in a row! As a very young girl, she accompanied her father, the owner of Ludwig Aeolian of St. Louis, Missouri, to the show. Years later, her husband, Bob, took over that business and a very active role in the...
Robert McDowell was president of the NAMM Board of Directors from 1969-1971. During that time he assisted William Gard in the expansion of the NAMM organization, including more hands on involvement with AMC and its publication Music USA. As a retailer in St. Louis for Ludwig-Aeolian, Bob saw the...
Danny Henkin was one of the true characters of the music products industry. He began his career with G. Leblanc Corporation and later worked as sales and marketing manager for Gemeinhardt Flutes – that is, before he bought the company. His background was in advertising and over the years he grew to...
Bud Reglein’s uncle formed a small mouthpiece company in Elkhart, IN and named it J.J. Babbitt as he felt it sounded better than Jessie James Babbitt. Bud took over the company in 1939 and, in the 1940s, engineered a custom facing machine to ensure each mouthpiece made could be consistent, thus...
Terry Lewis has fulfilled many roles within the music products industry including Executive Vice President of Yamaha Corporation of America. Under his leadership, the company expanded its educational and foundation programs while playing a vital role in many key industry originations such as MENC,...
Luella Derwin was one of the first women owners of a music store in America. In 1937, when her bandleader husband Hal Derwin went on the road, Luella was left behind, “So one day I was thinking of all the fun we had with musicians who would come to town and look for a local place to have their...
Tom Pedrini and his sister Vicki were third generation music retail owners. Their store, Pedrini’s Music, was located in Southern California and had a long and successful influence on the music community it served for so long. Due to changing times and strong competition, Tom and Vicki made the...
Vicki Pedrini grew up in the family’s music retail store in Southern California. She worked in the store on weekends and summer vacations as well as the holiday season, which brought fun times when the family all worked together. The store had a strong band and orchestra department, as it was...
James Kleeman was called the “Professor” around the NAMM headquarters. He was thought of respectfully for his role in establishing NAMM’s professional development department. While serving as NAMM’s President from 1983-1985, Jim played a significant role in establishing the way NAMM served its...