Women in the Music Industry
Boden Sandstrom is the founder of Woman Sound and a pioneering audio engineer who helped define the sound of the women’s music movement in America beginning in the 1970s. She was on hand for hundreds of marches, protests, concerts, and festivals and worked long and hard to provide the best possible...
Marlene Hutchinson has come up with several clever ways to encourage people to become music makers. With an emphasis on fun and ease, she had such success with her own guitar students that she wrote a number of method books all with the aim of empowering first-time musicians and inspiring those...
Sharon Sagar is the daughter of Paul Barth, the founder of Bartell Guitars. Paul started his guitar and bass manufacturing factory in Riverside, California, in 1964. As a teenager, Sharon worked in the factory in the summers and enjoyed getting to know the other dedicated employees who impressed...
Starr Parodi, has actively made beautiful music for the masses in all sorts of venues. As a pianist, synthesist, composer, producer, arranger, and conductor Starr has worked on a bevy of projects with headliners including Carole King, Stevie Wonder, Seal, Mariah Carey, Ray Charles, Whitney Houston...
Masako Koyama worked closely with the Japan Music Trades Magazine founder, Mr. Hiyama. The magazine was launched in 1962 with the goal of sharing stories about the instruments and people in the industry to help bring the industry together. Koyama-san joined these efforts in 1976 and was soon sent...
Zenobia looked forward to church every Sunday growing up in the Los Angeles area. She loved to sing and cut her teeth on the old gospel hymns. Zenobia pursued singing and was cast in the Broadway musical Hair, worked with director/choreographer Michael Bennett and became a successful backup singer...
Chelsie Reed is the Marketing Coordinator for the store her parents, Cindy and Rand Cook, own and operate. Candyman Strings & Things was formed in 1969 by Matthew Schwartzman and later sold the store to the Cooks. It was Matthew who named the store after two different songs called “Candyman.”...
Jayda Cook grew up in her parent's music store, Candyman Strings & Things in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and she always had a passion for the educational component of the business. Jayda took lessons as a child and had a wonderful experience participating in the store’s Rock Camp program. She then...
Francesca Jozette Tharpe was so thrilled to have a role in her school's choir. The experience gave her a musical outlet and self-confidence, which led to her involvement with Musical Theater. She would later learn the guitar, began writing songs, and formed her own band, Free Range Buddha. An...
Ricia King as a child took piano lessons from the mother of future Yamaha Marketing Manager Roger Eaton (fun fact). Ricia has always loved music and because she grew up in her father’s Kawasaki motorcycle dealership, she always enjoyed the interaction with customers. So when her husband Dan sprang...