Music Education
Shuji Ito began his career with Yamaha Corporation in 1965 and has since held a series of positions in Japan, the United States and in Europe including managing director and senior managing director. He served as president and representative director for Yamaha from 2000 until 2007. Mr. Ito has...
Billy Taylor was first and foremost a jazz pianist. This fact might surprise some people who knew Billy best for one of a number of other careers he enjoyed in music, including teaching, composing and advocating for music education. As a jazz performer, Billy learned from the best including Ben...
George Avakian produced so many pop and jazz recordings over his 50 plus year career with several labels it might be easier to list the recordings he did not take part in. Before entering World War II George had already produced his first recording, as well as writing about the music that he loved...
Brian Chung grew up surrounded by music and played piano at an early age. He earned an MBA and worked at ATT before returning to music. Brian wrote film scores using MIDI in the early 1980s, but injured his arm. As he wondered what he would do until his arm recovered, he applied and got a job at...
Michelle Moog-Koussa is the keeper of her father’s flame! As director of the Bob Moog Foundation she has worked closely with those who seek as she does to promote the work of her father, who was considered by many to be the premier pioneer of electronic music with the invention of his synthesizer,...
Phillip Stanger began playing drums at an early age and took lessons from the famed percussionist, Roy Knapp. Phil remembers with great joy the first time he walked into Frank’s Drum Shop in Chicago. Years later he would teach out of the world-renowned percussion store and over the years got to...
Randy Navarre loved teaching music as a band director. He composed works just for his own bands and even developed a few methods before ever thinking that his efforts could be published. While working with school band music, known as Northeastern Music Programs, he was given the opportunity to...
Himie Voxman was a band director nearly all his life. He studied chemistry in college but fell into music because jobs were hard for chemists to find in the days of the Great Depression. Since he had studied clarinet beginning when he was eight, he felt he could teach. Over his extensive musical...
Harry Carter was already a school band director when he opened a music store in Ottumwa, Iowa. The year was 1948 when Harry and two partners set out to develop a store that would specialize in customer service for band directors. As the store grew, Harry hired college friends and several buddies...
Larry Bearce formed Reston Music in northern Virginia in the 1960s and later opened several locations in the area. One key to the store’s success was the man himself. He was a dedicated music maker who found personal satisfaction in watching student’s progress and learn music. He took pride in...