Brass Instruments
Stephen Wick, whose father is a well-regarded classical musician, grew up in a very musical home. What he discovered as a child that remains to this very day is that his father’s passion for music, transferred nicely over to him. Together they work in the company his father, Denis, established to...
Angelo Battellini proudly managed the Martin Band Instrument factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he worked for 51 years. He was born the son of a brick layer in Italy, a trade he learned at a young age. When Angelo was 17 he traveled with an uncle to America. While laying bricks, a cousin in...
William Cordier remembered piling in the family car for a road trip to their favorite lake northwest of their home in Ohio. Each and every trip included a detour into Elkhart, Indiana where his father would pull over and show off the large sign announcing the "World's Biggest Musical Instrument...
Alex Hsieh is the CEO of P.Mauriat Paris, a brass instrument maker in Taiwan that specializes in saxophones, trumpets and accessories. Their saxophone line of instruments are inspired by the late French orchestra leader Paul Mauriat (1925-2006) who was known in America for a series of pop...
Dale Olson attended the University of North Texas back in the 1950s when the music program and the trumpet degree, which he earned, was just developing. Dale is proud of the programs at the university as well as the classmates there who became lifelong friends. Dale worked for FE Olds and has...
Carol Holtz was hired by the Martin Band Instrument Company in Elkhart during World War II. She has many fond memories of working for the company and the family feeling it had. Speaking of family, Carol married the son of the president, Frederick Holtz (1885-1965) and enjoyed being a part of the...
Michael Thomas grew up in Los Angles where he took to music at an early age. He formed a swing band and became a professional musician. Along the way he began making his own valve oil and gave it away to friends for years before he decided he should form a company to sell the product and to...
Karl Leong participated in the International Coalition during the NAMM Show beginning in 2012 to discuss collaborative efforts in creating more active music makers. As CEO of KHS, Karl has been active in these and other music education efforts both in Taiwan and around the world. As CEO, Karl has...
Nat Clark worked for the York Band Instrument Company for over 40 years! He was hired in New York in 1957 because his older brother was working for Carl Fischer, which owned York at the time. Nat later moved to the factory in Michigan where he started on the bench buffing instruments. He soon...
Denny Lawson began learning and playing instrumental music while in college. He soon found he had a great interest in playing music and switched his major to music education. While he was a band director, a music store had an opening on its repair bench and Denny took the job to learn basic...