Youth Orchestra
Jim Cliff remembers taking the bus into Minneapolis when he was eight years old to take accordion lessons. It was the beginning of his life-long love of making music. Among his career highlights was writing and arranging instructional music books, which were published by Hal Leonard and provided...
Newell Hardy had a life changing experience playing in the Youth Symphony on viola while in middle school. That opportunity lead to his love of guitar and later his passion for the pedal steel. Newell worked in music retail and worked his way up to store manager for Progressive Music in Utah. As a...
Karl Winkler began playing the viola in the fourth grade and got accepted into the local youth orchestra two years later. His first job in the music industry was working for Howard Beaver at Beaver's Band Box in Arizona while in college. He later took over the keyboard and recording department of...
David Marshall grew up in a musical home and played piano and cello at an early age. As part of the Wessex Youth Orchestra he played in many prestigious concerts including the Schools Prom at the Royal Albert Hall and later studied music at City University in London as his interest in electronic...
Patrick Wilson grew up in a very musical family. His father played piano in his own tenor band that his mother sang in and his sisters also played and sang. Patrick recalls the first instrument he picked up and played at age 6: the triangle. All throughout high school he played percussion in band...
Botso Korisheli was born in Georgia, Russia, and came to America to become a composer and music teacher. After teaching music in elementary school, Botso established the County Youth Symphony for San Luis Obispo County, California in 1964, which over the years has showcased many of his musical...
Paul Hagen grew up in England playing a number of musical instruments including the bassoon, piano and flute. He was part of the National Youth Band and, although he studied engineering in college, felt that he wanted to be involved with the music products industry. When he had the opportunity to...
Larry Westland set out to give a few music students a chance to play. He worked long and hard to gain support to create the Music for Youth School Programs in the UK, which was established in 1971. During enrollment in the Fall 2005 program, the two millionth student got the chance to make music....
David Seville loved the music industry because he loved music! He was born in Birmingham UK and became a well-known opera singer both in recordings and such live performances as Wells Cathedral. During our interview, he recalls his transition from singing to a long and enjoyable career with Selmer...