Pianos
Jim Trimper, Sr. is the president of Denton, Cottier & Daniels, a chain of piano and organ stores in the upstate New York area. The company was formed in 1827 and thus has a long history in each of the communities of their store locations and a dedication to service that Jim has continued...
Paul Monachino grew up in the Rochester, New York area during the big band era. He played trumpet and set out to see as many of the dance bands as he could including his hero Harry James. After serving during World War II, Paul was hired by the American Piano Company in 1946, the same year he was...
Bob Berkman has a passion about the player piano and the player piano rolls. Bob's grandparents had a player piano when he was a child and he grew up fascinated by the instrument. Once while in dental school, on a long weekend, Bob traveled to the QRS factory to make his own roll, having no idea...
Rose Karr's father worked for the founder of Cunningham Piano Company as a technician. When Mr. Cunningham passed away, Rose's father approached Mrs. Cunningham about his goals to continue the business. Rose and her sister Doris grew up in the piano business and both worked in the company for...
Lee Moyer began working for Marty's Music in the late 1960s. When the founder was ready to retire in 1971, Lee and his partner bought the business. They decided to keep the name and to continue to focus on school band programs as well as building the combo end of the business. Lee played a vital...
Charles Lawson has played church organ from boyhood all the way into his 80s. He was hired by a small piano store when he first moved to Bristol, Tennessee, from Knoxville to be close to his wife’s family. Along the way he opened a piano shop in Bristol, and worked closely with the Baldwin Piano...
Guy Ward was the president of the Ward Piano Company, located in Canton, North Carolina, from the 1940s until his retirement. After his daughter and son took over the company, he continued to go into the shop every day even at the time of his 2013 NAMM Oral History interview when he was 89! As...
Clemens Von Arnim is the CEO of Louis Renner & Co., producer of the Renner Action and Hammerheads for pianos, the company his great-grandfather was involved with from the very beginning. Over the generations, Clemens family was always a part of the company and worked hard to expand the company...
Dewey Kuhn grew up listening to his grandmother playing the organ, which she did in her younger days accompanying silent movies. His passion grew as he learned to play. Dewey worked with the men who would later form Hal Leonard Publishing Company, with organ man Crane Bodine, and with Baldwin...
Tom Schmitt is the CEO and Chairman of Schmitt Music Company, which was founded by his great-grandfather in 1896. The company, which now has several locations throughout the Midwest, has been an innovative retailer within the music products industry. Tom spoke of his family roots and how the...