West Music
James Harding is very passionate about his role in the music industry and particularly proud of his efforts to foster strong relationships between piano dealers and piano teachers. James has worked for several music stores for which he has learned much about the importance of solid relationships...
Steve Held was involved in music retail beginning when he was a teenager working at the Music Corner in Waterloo, Iowa. He later worked for West Music in Iowa City for well over a decade and then had his own piano store with his business partner Jim Hall. In the early days, Steve was trained in the...
Ryan West shared many of his memories of traveling abroad with his father, Steve, to understand and appreciate how the business great and diversified including their early distribution of Miyazawa Flutes.. West Music has always been innovative as a music retailer, and their flute line is just one...
Robin Walenta attended the University of Northern Iowa and Middle Tennessee State University before joining West Music in 1982. She was named president/CEO of the company in 2007. She was appointed to the NAMM ExCom and has also served as a board member for the National Association of School Music...
Bruce Johnson began his career in the music industry working in the accounting department for Wurlitzer in DeKalb, Illinois. While on the job he began outlining a computer program that could help with the company’s retail stores. The more he worked on the program, the more he saw the need to code...
Masashi Miyazawa formed the Miyazawa Flutes Company in 1969. Mr. Miyazawa founded the company with a dream to create a better instrument. With his background in the design and manufacture of professional flutes, Miyazawa successfully brought together traditional craftsmanship with advanced...
Steve West took over his father’s store and went on to become an industry leader who served as president of the NAMM Board. Steve recalls the days as a boy running around West Music as his father, Pearl, sold instruments and gave lessons. With the expansion of the store in the 1970s, Steve saw the...
Eleanor West and her husband Pearl established a music store in Iowa City just a year after getting married in 1940. Eleanor was the bookkeeper in the early years of West Music Company and was known to make a penny last during the Great Depression and World War II. She also played an important role...