Women in the Music Industry
Karen Feltz is one of the voices of Conn-Selmer as she serves in the customer service department. She joined Selmer right out of high school and has worked for the company for over 40 years. Music dealers around the world know Karen for her dedication to finding answers to their questions and for...
Naomi Peer recalls the days Danny Henkin brought the CG Conn Company back to Elkhart, Indiana in the 1980s, which is when she first began working for the company. She stayed on during the merge with Selmer in 2003 and has witnessed many changes within the industry. As an office worker, Naomi...
Paula Walker began working in the music industry right out of high school for the Gemeinhart flute company in Elkhart, Indiana. In the early years she worked primarily on student instruments for Gemeinhart, which provided products designed especially for younger students. Her attention to detail...
Lorna Kirchner has worked for Selmer, now Conn-Selmer, in Elkhart for over 40 years. She recalls the days before the CNC machines came into the factory, when all of the work was done by hand. Her attention to details and skills at soldering continue to be used in making musical instruments and...
Deb Hart began working in the Selmer office in Elkhart, Indiana in the early 1970s and stayed on when the company merged with Conn. Among the elements of the company she has enjoyed the most over the years is getting to work with so many people who have become personal friends. She is very proud...
Bernice Pelmear began working in the Selmer factory in Elkhart, Indiana in 1973. She was trained by veteran co-workers, a tradition she carried on as a trainer years later. Her work focused on assembling oboes and bassoons and continued on after the merge with Conn.
Elaine Taylor began working on the bench at Selmer in Elkhart in 1975, where she covered cases. Over the years she has worked in the cork and padding department for saxophones, also in the instrument cleaning department, in the office and then as a supervisor in the instrument accessory...
Elaine Frizzell was an artist endorser for the Mosrite Guitar Company back in the 1960s. Over the years she became close friends with the company’s founders, Semi and Andy Mosley. She witnessed first hand the production of the guitars that were first made famous when played by the Ventures in the...
Rosi Johnson was hired by the founder of Mississippi Music and her future father in law, Jimmy Johnson, as the in-house accountant. She took over the financial end of the entire business from the secretary/treasurer/office manger who was retiring. At the time the company had seven store locations...
Jacquelyn Dillon-Krass was a pioneering woman in the music products industry. As a music educator she first connected with the industry when hired by Scherl & Roth in 1970 to head up their efforts to promote their string products by creating string orchestras in the public school system. She...