MIDI
Ryan Clement was among the first employees at Grandma’s Music in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Established by Micky Patten in 1986, the store gained a strong reputation for selling pro audio and digital gear in great volume. Ryan became an expert on programming synthesizers, possessing a knowledge and...
Nancy Kewin Smith is a pioneering senior executive who served the music products industry in an era in which she was among a small number of women in high-ranking positions. After earning her degree in music, Nancy first entered the music industry in sales at West LA Music. She then joined the Moog...
Mark Altekruse, like so many passionate members of the music industry, specifically remembers the lessons he learned from one of his earliest and most influential music instructors. Trombonist Bugs Beddow was a local musician in Detroit who served as a musical mentor to young Mark, who went on to...
Brockett Parsons is proud of the musical education he received in grade school, which was furthered by participating in the school band program at his high school. He went on to graduate from Berklee College of Music. He cut his teeth on classical and jazz while having a strong interest in R&B...
Dallas Smith began playing the clarinet at the age of eleven. By the time he was in high school he was in an all-star group and later focused on classical music throughout college. His love for jazz and new age music emerged over the years and Dallas found himself naturally adding classical...
James Brady was front and center during the MIDI boom, working within the keyboard department at Rushworth’s Music House in Liverpool. The year was 1986 and the synthesizer was at its peak in popularity. As a musician, who was already using electric keyboards and analog synths to create his own...
Mike Soldano says he was late to game, picking up the guitar when he was 20, but soon made up for lost time by jumping in with both feet! He studied the instrument and listened to live and recorded guitar heroes at every chance he got. Next he fell into building guitars and took a woodworking class...
Greg Mathieson spoke passionately about his career in music during his NAMM Oral History interview. He brought up some very interesting points, such as his views on working on the road vs in the recording studio, and his experiences of developing a true musical connection with the vocalists he...
Daniel Haver was heavily influenced by the music he heard at home as a kid and wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an entrepreneur. He combined his love of music with his business skills and began working at Native Instruments right from the start. Daniel recalled in his 2021 NAMM...
Peggy Dahl-Bartunek grew up with four siblings who all took piano lessons – they even had two pianos in their house! Since the fifth grade, Peggy knew that she wanted to be a teacher and more specifically, a music teacher. She ultimately became a high school and middle school music teacher,...