Organs
Tony Fenelon cut his teeth on the Theatre Organ and became the artist in residence at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne in the early 1960s. He recalls performing demos at the NAMM Shows beginning in the 1970s for companies such as Lowrey and Roland. Tony was on hand for the big unveiling of the...
Lindsay Stodden's career in the music and audio industry has had to do far more with helping his customers find the right product for their needs rather than pushing a given make and model. He worked for Allen's Music in Melbourne, Australia as the audio manger where he soon realized he enjoyed...
Camille Scheidemann is the current owner of Frank and Camille’s Piano Store on Long Island, New York. For her, it all started when Dennis Awe, the young, amazingly talented organist/store owner told Camille’s father he would teach her to play if they purchased the Lowrey Heritage organ. That...
Garth Hudson sat down at the piano and played several classical works as the NAMM Oral History crew set up the camera and lights. He began by playing, stopping every once in a while, to review his notes. Garth spoke about his love for music and his first teacher in Canada who impressed upon him the...
Frank Charles is perhaps best known for playing the organ during most hockey, baseball, and basketball games during the 1980s in Milwaukee. His riffs for the Brewers influenced many other organists in baseball with familiar musical phases such as "CHARGE" and polkas during the seventh inning...
Lynn Sheeley Jr.'s father opened a small piano store in east Tennessee in 1908. After serving in D-Day during World War II, Lynn returned home to work in the store, which he later took over. Along the way, the business grew to four locations, two of which are in Knoxville and that Lynn managed for...
Frank Reda worked in the insurance business as a youth, where he credits the training on customer service and sales that he later applied to his work in the music industry. In the 1970s, he was hired by Wurlitzer to manage their retail stores in the Chicago area. While there, he helped train...
Vic Geiger has had a long and impressive career in the piano and organ business going back to the day he was hired by Kimball in 1974. While with Kimball, Vic played an important role with the Bosendorfer Piano brand, working his way up to Executive Vice President of International Marketing. While...
Tom Miller began his career in the piano business at Jordan Kitts Music in Bethesda, Maryland in 1976. His father had purchased a Hammond organ from the same company in 1960, and at age 6 Tom started music lessons. Tom began working on the manufacturing side of the industry in 1977, first as an...
Sean O'Shea began front pumping the organ during the big boom of home organs in the 1970s. His first gig was for a music store when he was just 14. He grew up in the business and worked for many of the top names in the piano industry. Sean had his own store for years and worked in the wholesale...