Pianos
Brian Schmidt opened up a small piano and organ retail store in Calgary, Canada, in 1973 with a strong focus on the Baldwin Products. He was just 21 years old at the time and benefited greatly from a number of mentors who helped him, several of whom were Baldwin employees. After Baldwin was sold...
Robert Neu grew up in the Cincinnati area and went to work for Baldwin Piano Company on August 2, 1946, right after World War II. In fact, Bob started out as a time keeper to keep track of production. He recalls in the first few months of working there, military guards were at each entrance since...
John Simpkinson had a strong background in advertising when he was hired by the Baldwin Piano Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bob Cosgrove and James Mixter hired John for company and product branding. John worked closely with the dealers and district managers to communicate promotional ideas and...
George Benson played trombone during school and studied piano during college. It was during that time that he began working for a local music store. He worked for Hoover Music in Jackson, Michigan and later for Schroeder Piano before James Mixter hired him as sales manager for the Baldwin Piano...
Elmer Reeder and his brother purchased a sawmill outside of Lansing, Michigan, right after World War II. It was during that time that Elmer became an expert in wood, an important part of his career years later. When his son, Jim, opened a piano shop and retail store called James Reeder Piano,...
David Horine opened a small piano store in Bloomington, Illinois in the 1980s. David became a piano technician and gathered a nice reputation for tuning and repairs before he decided to open his own retail store. He found in short order that his customers were eager to try new models of the...
Chuck Dadisman grew up on a farm and went to school to become a school music teacher, which he did for five years before moving to Omaha, NE, where he worked in piano and organ retail. It was at that store that he met one of the mentors in his life, Dick Carlson. Dick was the road rep for...
Kathi Kretzer is the founder of Kretzer Piano in Jupiter, Florida. She established the store in 1985 and has since been an active member of the music industry as well as her local community. The store is the authorized Yamaha Piano dealer in the area and has provided countless programs and events...
Lee Donais may be the only industry member who played piano (as part of the Navy Band) for three United States Presidents: Johnson, Nixon and Ford. After his career with the Navy Band, Lee was hired by Gordon Keller to help run His string of piano stores on the east coast. Lee moved to Florida...
John Larson worked in piano retail in and around North Dakota before opening his own store. He worked the area and became involved in the music programs and lessons within the community. He also became a well respected member of the National Association of Piano Travelers and would rarely miss the...