Kansas
Dee Starkey recalls the days when his father, Jim, had a well known dance band in Wichita and played at night while teaching music during the day. In 1954 he opened Jim Starkey Music with a strong focus on lesson programs and hiring the best teachers in the area. His wife, Sally, who he met in...
Glenn Axelton managed a few stores for the famed Jenkins Music Company in and around Kansas City before opening his own store in Manhattan, Kansas. Glenn’s Music soon became a music center for the town and surrounding areas and led to one of the largest music lesson programs in the area. As a...
JW Jenkins was president of the large music store chain in and around Kansas City that his great grand father first opened in 1878. His father, Paul W. Jenkins, kept the company running during the Great Depression and provided a great example to JW who expanded the store locations after World War...
Lori Supinie has been an active music maker since she was a child. Throughout her life she has provided music and music lessons to others as well as being a strong leader within the music products industry. She began working for Senseney Music in Kansas and soon took an active role in the store’s...
Bob Wiley’s father opened a small music store in Kansas in the mid 1930s and specialized in steel guitars. When the sales rep, Charlie Hayes, came into the store with electric guitars from a new company called Fender, Bob’s father was thrilled. In 1947, the store was one of the country’s first...
Joe Hume was a veteran school band director before he opened Hume Music located in Kansas. His love of school bands continued as a retailer and as such he established new bands and expanded several other smaller school bands. Joe saw the importance of being a strong supporter of the school band...
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...