Music Manufacturing
Wilhelm Gertz was often seen working on the action of a vintage grand piano whenever you stopped to visit him in his store. After all, he has been doing this same thing most of his life. He was born into a family in Germany who ran the largest piano company in the country. He learned the craft,...
Steve Markowitz’s father invented a unique electronic organ in the 1930s and established the Allen Organ Company in Allentown, PA. Steve’s father, Jerome, built his first experimental instrument back in the Depression Era--1936. As the popularity of the instrument grew, particularly with churches...
Martha Markowitz married her knight-in-shining-armor right after World War II. She soon helped him run the small organ company he started before the war. The Allen Organ Company has been a pioneering business in church organs and in digital technology for many decades. Although Jerome has passed...
Koob Veneman’s father started the first Veneman’s Music Store in Holland, an idea copied by Koob in Maryland in 1960. Koob, like his father, was a luthier who designed his own instruments. Koob introduced his line of electric guitars called KAPA in 1964. The product line resulted in a healthy run...
Ted Veneman grew up in his father’s music store. As early as 1975, Ted was etching out a mail order catalog under the name “Music Emporium,” which was much earlier than most mail order catalogs in the industry. He also pioneered the idea of a music store selling pro audio gear – so far ahead of the...
William Bevan has proudly served as an engineer at Shure Inc. for over 40 years. He was a key engineer in many of the company’s products from the early 1960s and running into the 2000s. He worked in the electronic development departments with a focus in his early years in photograph cartridges and...
Don Gayle served as a technical writer for Shure for three decades, after a long and distinguished career as a professor of literature. While at Shure, Don’s language skills were key to the quality of materials for instructing customers in the use of each product. These materials remain a well-...
Sandy Schroeder speaks with fond memories of his years in the music industry, most notably his current career at Shure, “Most folks don’t know that although Shure has been around for 80 years, we have only had three presidents, including our first Mr. Shure and our current president, Sandy LaMantia...
Rose Shure took over ownership of the Shure Company after her husband Sidney N. Shure died in 1995. With her great understanding of the products and office policies (having been employed there herself since 1949), She was able to not only continue the pace that her husband started, but expand and...
Michael Pettersen is the unofficial historian of Shure. He can tell you everything you’d ever want to know about the long list of innovations and long-lasting microphone developments so much a part of the 80-year old company. Michael has also served in several roles in his 28-year career at Shure...