Music Manufacturing
John Schauer grew up in Indiana where his father offered him some sage advice; “if you listen, you will know what to say.” The quote stayed with John as he developed a career in the music industry. In 1987 he joined the Yamaha team in the corporate communications department. He was always listening...
Jens Ritter is the innovative luthier who gained wide attention after a three page article about his instruments ran in a 1996 issue of Guitar & Bass magazine. A few years later, he attended the NAMM Show and his business grew. Among his most favorite projects so far are the instruments he...
John Hennessey has fond memories of growing up in the family music business. The Music People was established by his father, Jim, in 1979. John helped manage the growth and development of the business from a small distributor to a manufacturing company. John and his sister, Sharon, also played an...
Sharon Hennessey and her brother, John, are the co-presidents of The Music People. The company was established by her father, Jim, back in 1979. Sharon worked in every position within the company, knowing from a young age she had a deep passion for the music industry. She worked alongside her...
Rob Meads recalls his father purchasing a Lowrey Organ and how he could think of nothing he would rather do than have a career making music! As a teenager, Rob was hired by legendary music retailer Swanny Swanson in Minnesota to play an organ in a grocery store, which was a big hit. Rob was trained...
Jim Wieda was just 14 years old when he was hired to play an organ for Farmer's Music Barn in Illinois. He was hired by Lowrey Organ and took part in their mall development program in the late 1970s. By 2002, Jim was promoted to Regional Sales Manager and then later Vice President. During Jim’s...
Ilja Krumins is a co-founder of Gamechanger Audio. He was born in Latvia and studied music in London while playing rock, surf, and rockabilly in several bands he formed with his friends. A number of those friends got together over time to outline some improvements they wanted to see in their audio...
Sabine Grubmüller joined the Bösendorfer Piano company in 2008, the same year the historic piano manufacturer was purchased by Yamaha. In 2015 Sabine was named the Managing Director and outlined a plan to continue the company’s traditions while embracing changes that helped keep the company...
Arturo Vicari is the founder of AEB Industrials which he established in 1974 in Bologna, Italy. He is also the CEO of RCF Spa which is based in Reggio Emilia (Italy). Both companies design and manufacture pro audio gear and belong to the industrial group, RCF Group. Arturo is proud of the growth of...
John Rogers provided an in-depth overview of the Paxman Company during his NAMM Oral History interview, which happened to have taken place as the company was celebrating 100 years in business during the 2019 NAMM Show. John explained that the company started when Harry Paxman opened a small retail...