Strings
Jason Bartel opened Maple Leaf Strings in 2011, right across the street from his father’s business, Baroque Violin Shop, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The two companies helped each other, and often Jason would walk a customer's violin over to his dad for repairs. Jason’s father, Paul Bartel, opened a small...
Tiffany Johnson gets a real kick from serving her school accounts for Southwest Strings and helping each obtain the instruments and services they need in order to provide for their music students. Talking with teachers and getting to know them and their needs has become a favorite part of her job...
Pablo Ortega was interviewed during the Summer NAMM Show in 2021, just as Magma Strings was launching their American distribution branch. The show was both Pablo’s first as well as the first NAMM show in 18 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Being a longtime friend of Sebastian, the son of the...
Juan Grecos is the president of Amigos de la Guitarra de Valencia and has served in that position since 2004. The organization is dedicated to showcasing the Spanish classical guitar and more recently flamenco guitar and other related instruments of Spain by presenting concerts at a number of...
Carlos Medina is the owner of Medina and Magma Music in Argentina. His passion for music traces back to his grandfather who played guitar in a local band. In fact, much of the business’ success has involved the family element. For example, he worked with his father for many years and is proud that...
Otto Werner grew up surrounded by music. His dad, a violin maker in Schönbach, produced violins at home and sold them in Markneukirchen while his aunt worked at Junger Company, the main producer of strings in Schönbach. After 1946, she resettled first in Tennenlohe, then in Bubenreuth once the...
Robert Gillespie was teaching at Ohio State University in the music department when he developed and hosted a summer workshop for violin teachers. In addition to his regular teaching, playing, and the yearly workshop, Dr. Gillespie co-wrote one of the most popular and regarded method books for the...
Ken Dattmore is the Marketing Manager for Yamaha within the strings department, which has been his passion for his entire career. He started in the industry with the William Lewis & Son Company, which brought violins into the hands of thousands of young music students around the world. Ken...
Mark Dronge was the President of DR Strings and a veteran of the music products industry, having been involved since he was four years old in his father’s retail store! Mark recalled the accordion boom of the 1940s in his father’s store, which was sold in 1948. The money his father made in...
Gerard Garnier is the president of ALGAM in France and likes to say with a proud smile that he started in the music industry with only one thing, a Black & Decker drill! He began making wooden flutes with his drill and soon expanded to 50 employees. He then began to import musical products...