Women in the Music Industry
Barbara Fitzgerald is a member of the NAMM family! For years Barbara has been the trade show event coordinator who quietly in the background has made possible so many of the current services enjoyed during the annual shows. She has worked on improving customer service for our members as well as...
Joyce Hershberger and her husband, Floyd, established the Hershberger Music Store in McCook, Nebraska, in 1956. They have enjoyed watching the company grow and become an important part of the community, serving several generations and bringing music into the lives of many. Joyce is particularly...
Patricia Bartolini and her husband William formed the Bartolini Pickup and Electronics Company in 1973 largely based on the acoustic research both had conducted over a range of several years. Their research led to developments in design of innovative pickups especially for the guitar and bass....
Willi Zildjian has made many lasting contributions to the SABIAN Cymbal Company, which she formed along with her husband Bob back in 1981. However, her most noted is the naming of the company. While driving to New York from their factory in Canada, she discussed names with her husband. Most of the...
Joan Flintoff LoPear joined the Southern California chapter of the Music Library Association (MLA) in 1967 just as the organization and the field of music librarians were recreating themselves in a new age of music. Joan helped in establishing the standard codes now used in music cataloging and has...
Susan Brailove was the director of Oxford University Press and later formed her own music publishing company. With a tremendous understanding of the role of the music editor, Susan published a chronological history of the music engraver’s role. As a member of the Music Publishers Association she...
Martha Markowitz married her knight-in-shining-armor right after World War II. She soon helped him run the small organ company he started before the war. The Allen Organ Company has been a pioneering business in church organs and in digital technology for many decades. Although Jerome has passed...
Rosemary Bailey was ten years old when she was hired by Hammond as a concert artist. Over the years, she took part in the growth of the organ market in the 1970s and had first-hand experiences bringing music to millions. Her interview was filled with remarkable stories of being in the industry when...
Rose Shure took over ownership of the Shure Company after her husband Sidney N. Shure died in 1995. With her great understanding of the products and office policies (having been employed there herself since 1949), She was able to not only continue the pace that her husband started, but expand and...
Elizabeth Ludwig-Fennell was always surrounded by music. As a child, she played piano. As a young adult, she helped develop the Ludwig Music Publishing Company. She later married the founder. Upon her husband’s passing, she took over the business during an era when women seldom were involved in the...