Brass Instruments
Eric Satterlee founded Meridian Winds in 1984, in Lansing, Michigan. The store specializes in wind instruments and has a very innovative repair shop. In fact, the repair shop is the birthplace of several of Eric’s ideas in tooling enhancement, including a series of products he sells under the...
Larry Ramirez had a fascinating career in music! As a trumpet player he landed his dream job designing instruments for many of his childhood heroes! While working for Leblanc, Larry was assigned to repair the instruments of many of the company’s top endorsers. Over time he developed friendships...
Jim Stella began playing the trumpet in the fourth grade and continued to play throughout college and went to instrument repair school right after school before landing a job in manufacturing. He began working for Leblanc in the Martin Band Instrument factory and soon thereafter became plant...
Dave Surber’s father was a United States Navy musician who worked for the Leblanc Company after he retired from the navy. When Dave was looking for a job his father found one for him in the buffing room at Leblanc. Dave moved into polishing clarinet keys while his father worked with artist...
Brad Milliken began working in the music industry with the Vincent Bach Company and stayed with the company when it merged with Selmer and again with Conn. Brad’s positions within the factory has always been based on handcraftsmanship. While he was working in the industry during the early days of...
Jerry Myers is a bell maker for the Conn-Selmer Company in Elkhart, Indiana. Like so many of his co-workers within the factory, Jerry was trained on the job by those who came before him and over time Jerry found himself training some of the newer employees in much the same way. Jerry began...
Roger Zehr worked as a trumpet tester for the Vincent Bach brands of horns, beginning when the company was on its own and later when it was purchased by Selmer and when it merged to become Conn-Selmer in 2003. Bob Hodges was also a trumpet tester for the company who served as Roger’s mentor and...
John Foley grew up in Elkhart, Indiana and began working in the Selmer factory before graduating high school. He stayed on with the company, working in the Bach department with a focus on trumpet assembly. Over the years John has taken on the role of teaching the craft to new employees, a part of...
Dennis Ward takes great pride in the work he does making musical instruments! He began working in the music industry with Vincent Bach in the 1970s and remained with the company in the early 2000s when it merged to become Conn-Selmer. In recent years Dennis manages the machines which make parts...
Kent Hocker earned a music degree in performance at Indiana University before he began working in the music industry. He joined the Selmer Company of Elkhart in 1977 as a trumpet tester. Over the years Kent has played a role in the training of other testers, a position he has enjoyed. He...