Yamaha Corporation of America
Tom Wilson might have been among the most-suggested people to be included in the NAMM Oral History Program! Suggestions came from those who worked with him over the years who gained respect for his abilities, fairness and friendship! Tom worked with Yamaha in Texas as the Direct Sales Manager,...
Carter Schuld's father purchased an accordion for him when he was just four years old. Thanks to church, Carter took a liking to the organ, which his father noticed and purchased a home organ when Carter was just seven. He became more interested as television shows like Lawrence Welk fuelled the...
Lynda Garcia is first and foremost a music teacher, which was not only her background but her life’s passion. As she taught, Lynda developed methods and materials that assisted individuals as well as groups learn and develop as musicians. Teaming with other educators, notably Brenda Dillon, she...
Lou Witt grew up on a small farm in Iowa and one day asked his band director in school for an instrument. He was given a trombone and has played the instrument ever since. He enjoyed playing music and soon developed an interest in working within the music industry. Lou worked for Schmitt Music in...
John Waltrip began being involved in music as a small child and in fact, became the main pianist for his church as a teenager. He played in the school bands and studied music in college. He taught music after college before being drafted. Even in the army, John sang in the choir group, which...
Charles Anderson displayed his love for music education beginning at a young age. In fact, he was hired at the age of 15 to teach while he was still in high school. Over the years he expanded into group music lessons such as the work he has done with Yamaha over the years. As Director of...
Brian Jemelian didn't think of himself as a musician, although he played violin as a child and later as an employee of Yamaha he took both piano and guitar lessons. Brian studied business in college and was very interested in the business world. After a successful mentoring program at Price...
Hitoshi Fukutome has enjoyed a long and interesting career at the Yamaha Corporation. He joined Yamaha in 1982 and has served in many roles for the company over the years including Manager of the Piano Division in Europe in 1990 and as president of Yamaha Music in Austria five years later. His...
Yoshi Kobayashi began working for Yamaha Corporation of America in 1958. In the early days of his career he was tasked with supervising the import and export of the motorcycle division. As the musical instrument side of the company grew and expanded into the United States, Yoshi-san was placed in...
Edgar Winter grew up in a musical family, his older brother being the blues legend Johnny Winter. Edgar played in several of his brother’s bands before forming his own bands, always with a focus on rock and roll. He pioneered the synthesizer in many settings and is the inventor of the keyboard...