Women in the Music Industry
Beth Lyons is the 5th through 8th Grade Band Director at five different elementary schools and one middle school in Oak Lawn, Illinois. She has taught several elements of music, ranging from instrumental, choir, and general music. Ms. Lyons received her education at Bradley University in Peoria,...
Janet Barrett feels strongly that if each person played their part in music education, the American system would gain the strength it needs to provide a meaningful element in the lives of each student. After serving as general music and choral teacher in the public school system, Janet became...
Nancy Golden teaches band in four of the seven elementary schools in the Hinsdale District 181. She discusses various methods of recruiting new students for the band, such as showing recruitment films featuring children throughout their development as musicians in school, interactive programs with...
Felice Mancini grew up in a home full of music. Her father was an Oscar-winning composer and her mother is the noted vocalist who formed the Society of Singers. Felice has devoted herself to the non-profit world when she became involved with the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation in 1998, just two years...
Ginny Mancini always loved singing! When she had the chance to form a backup group for a 17 year old vocalist coming from Chicago to Los Angles for the first time in the 1940s, Ginny jumped at it. The group became known as the Mel-Tones and they became the backup group for Mel Torme for over 3...
Holly Hofmann is one of the only female jazz flute players who does not double on other instruments but in fact prefers to focus her time and talents as a flutist. With little in the way of jazz flute history, Holly has been a pioneer in the field for the last several decades. She has also been a...
Millie Detgen was one of the very few female manufacturers reps in the music products industry in the 1970’s and 80’s. She began working with her husband Gene Detgen after they were married in 1971. Gene was the Sales Manager at Pacific Music Supply in Los Angeles at that time. His main product...
Beverly Grigsby was enrolled in medical school in Los Angeles when on the way home from class one day she stopped into a small music studio. There she met electronic composer Ernst Krenek who would later become her mentor after she decided to drop out of medical school and focus on becoming an...
Barb Fairhurst was hired by Dave Smith to manage the business elements of his newly-formed company he called Sequential Circuits, back in 1977. The following year, the company released its first product, the Prophet-5 synthesizer, which helped revolutionize the electronic keyboard and synthesizer...
Charlotte Atkinson is an organist extraordinaire! Showing an aptitude for music early on, Charlotte continued with formal education earning Bachelor and Masters degrees in music. At San Diego State University, she first met her husband, William, in Howard Brubeck's theory class. In her junior year...