NASMD
Dean Samuel is the son of industry leader, Lowell Samuel, who not only formed the Samuel Music retail store in Effingham, IL but the pioneering music wholesale company, MIDCO, in 1964. Lowell was also one of the founders of NASMD and an early supporter of the industry’s Global Economic Summits....
David Ellis was greatly influenced by his father, Richard Ellis, the band director and music store founder. Growing up in the business, David developed a strong passion for music both as a retailer and as a player. In fact, the only two years David did not work for Ellis Music was when he was on...
Richard Ellis was proud of the three main areas of his professional career; playing, teaching and selling musical instruments. As a teenager Richard traveled with a big band, playing dances during the Swing Era. He later taught music at several levels as well as directed the local community band....
Madeleine Crouch always has an endless amount of energy. In the role of industry association manager, Madeleine took over the company established by Don Dillon, which offers organizational and planning services for a number of music industry associations including RPMDA, ISB and NASMD. Madeleine...
Jerry Pellegrino wanted to own a business ever since he was a kid, so when the opportunity arose to start his own music store, he jumped at the chance. With a small loan and the help of several local school band directors, Jerry started serving the orchestra programs in the Canton, Ohio area. Over...
George Quinlan Jr. began working in the store his father established before he can remember, sweeping up on weekends and helping with band rental season in the fall. George worked in every position within the store to learn first hand all he could about the business. He said he also did a lot of...
Jim Kidder had already worked in music retail for several years when he was given the chance to take over the band instrument division and form his own business. Since then, Kidder Music has become well known and beloved by students and band directors alike. Jim’s strong support for school programs...
Joe Hume was a veteran school band director before he opened Hume Music located in Kansas. His love of school bands continued as a retailer and as such he established new bands and expanded several other smaller school bands. Joe saw the importance of being a strong supporter of the school band...
Gene Garb is the Vice President of NEMC, joining the company only a few years after it was established in the 1950s. NEMC is a school oriented music wholesaler located in Mountainside, New Jersey. The company’s focus has been to work closely with schools to create rental programs that best support...
Greg Way has had a long and successful career in the Canadian music retail industry and has been a strong advocate for music and music making throughout his career. As an owner of St. John’s Music, Greg developed many programs for his customers and played a key role in the company’s store...