Music Retail
Bob Ryder grew up surrounded by music and began playing saxophone at an early age. When he and his wife, Janine, had the opportunity to purchase La Jolla Music in the 1990s, Bob was thrilled. The couple expanded the store’s product line while building new brands of products from overseas. The...
Janine Ryder and her husband, Bob, owned La Jolla Music on Girard Avenue for several years beginning in the 1990s. At the time, the store needed new product brands, which Janine expanded by replacing the store's instruments offerings from Asian made to those manufactured by Selmer, Yamaha, Taylor...
James Owen has been teaching at La Jolla Music nearly since the beginning. The store was established in 1962 and James started working there just a few years later. As a teenager, he was the first guitarist to win the Redlands Bowl Youth Artists Auditions, which fueled his passion for music. He...
Jim Peterson started La Jolla Music in 1962, just a few years after his career in music retail began. Jim worked as a gigging musician in and around San Diego at night and on weekends in the late 1950s and early 1960s. His day job was as a salesman for a local music store and when an opportunity...
David St John began his career in music retail in 1967 and since that time he has devoted his career to bringing music and music lessons to the lives of his customers. David worked for a few music stores in Southern California, staying decades at some stores, including Gard’s Music in Glendora. ...
Peter Kragh-Jacobsen started out as a percussionist performing all over Denmark. After tiring of being on the road, he opened the Drum and Percussion Center Denmark, established in 1980. Importing of percussion instruments to Denmark became very expensive due to the exchange rate of the Danish...
Martin Elneff is owner of i.K. Gottfried, a music store specializing in sales, production and repair of woodwind instruments since 1796. As a teenager Martin started in retail at Marno Sørensen music store in the heart of Copenhagen. He moved on to become successful starting an online business....
Poul Marno Sørensen inherited Marno Sørensen Music store from his father located for many years in the heart of Copenhagen. Poul remembers how his father worked as a musician in a circus before he settled to open the shop in 1925. Many important jazz musicians were customers here such as Archie...
Erik Gramkow started his career in the music business with piano manufacturer Brødr Jørgensen. When Eric joined the company the focus was on importing music instruments to Scandinavia. Hammond organ kits were imported from the United States and assembled in Denmark, making it possible to export to...
Don Bird founded Conn Organs of Fresno in 1973 in Fresno, CA. He started his career in music, working for Sherman Clay, Co. in 1967 as a general manager of a single store, working completely by himself. He was offered a promotion – move to Philadelphia and general manage 3 Sherman Clay stores – and...