Oral History - all
David Tarpley remembered crawling around in the ceiling of his current church as a child, hauling the wires for the Allen Organ his father and uncle were installing. As a member of the Tarpley family, you worked in the family business, which for David meant sweeping the music store, moving pianos... more
Birth Date: January 31, 1930
Deceased Date: November 17, 2021
Joe D McBrayer always took great pride in the craftsmanship he put into the servicing and restoration of pianos. In a career that began when he was a kid sweeping up the store, Joe D managed to do every job related to the buying, hauling, restoring and selling of pianos and organs. Ultimately, it... more
John Welch is the president of Sofia Violins, which is an American-made instrument company based in Indianapolis, Indiana. John’s incredible life in music began as a child when he was classically trained on the piano. He played jazz trombone during the Bebop era in New York. In fact, he has a... more
Birth Date: March 14, 1943
Deceased Date: April 21, 2014
Steve Weiss loved playing the drums as a small child, but never imagined in a million years that he would have a career in music, let alone a pioneering and successful career in the music products industry. In 1965, he formed Steve Weiss Music in Philadelphia and soon became one of the leaders in... more
Michael Udow served as principal percussionist with the Santa Fe Opera from 1968 until his retirement in 2009. His work with Keiko Abe in Japan as part of Summit Brass, Equilibrium and the seasons with the Michigan Symphony Band have been widely regarded within the world of percussion. Michael’s... more
Bill White played drums since he was a child. So when his son approached him to make a snare drum for him after Bill’s retirement, he agreed. Since that time the snares his son played have been requested by friends and fellow drummers to the point that they decided to start a business. White &... more
Ron Vaughn began his career in the music industry as a drummer who was always looking for new gizmos that could produce the sound he sought. After creating a long list of clever products for himself, he was asked by others he knew to create the sounds they were looking for. Ron worked with the... more
Caito Marcondes has played the rhythm of Brazil his entire life. As a result of years of playing and research, he has become one of the world’s leading experts of Afro-Latin rhythm and drumming. His compositions, such as “Porta do Templo,” have expanded the sounds of Brazil around the world. His... more
Anne McGinty was hired by the Armstrong Flute Company in the late 1970s to run their publishing division after the company aquired Hansen as their distributor. Anne later moved to Florida and worked with the iconic publisher, Mr. Charlie Hansen, who was the founder of the company. While working at... more
Dean Samuel is the son of industry leader, Lowell Samuel, who not only formed the Samuel Music retail store in Effingham, IL but the pioneering music wholesale company, MIDCO, in 1964. Lowell was also one of the founders of NASMD and an early supporter of the industry’s Global Economic Summits.... more
Bill Mendello retired as president of Fender Musical Instrument Corp in the fall of 2010 after a long career in the industry. He was hired in the accounting department of CBS Musical Instrument Division in 1978. Bill soon began working with Bill Schultz who was hired by the president of the musical... more
Robert Ulrich served as Chairman of Target and helped pioneer the mass retailing of affordable musical instruments in what has been known as the Big Box Stores. In 2010, the year after his retirement from Target, Bob's dream of creating a special music education experience for people was realized... more
Peter Webster has dedicated his career to music education. Peter is the John Beattie Professor of Music Education at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University in Chicago. He was born into a very musical family in Augusta, Maine, where his deep passion for music began. His career has... more
Marcia Neel began her career as a band director in a public high school. After a successful teaching career, she turned her focus on advancing music education within the American educational system. She became president of the Music Education Consultants, Inc, located in Las Vegas, NV. There she... more
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... more
Stanley Leonard, the principal timpanist emeritus for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, was interviewed during PASIC 2010 on the very day he was inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame. It was an exciting day and Stanley expressed his gratitude for the honor. He also recalled his life in music,... more
George Jacob greatly enjoys creating musical products for musicians –of all levels and ages. When a customer needed a softer sound with his drum sticks, George came to the rescue and developed a full line of drum sticks and mallets. Among his innovations was the use of materials not yet used in... more
Birth Date: August 28, 1925
Deceased Date: August 10, 2011
Billy Grammer formed his own guitar company after years of playing country music in and around Nashville. Billy recorded several hit records on his own as well as playing behind some of the biggest names in country music. In 1958 he recorded “Done Laid Around” and the chart topper “Gotta Travel On... more
Jim Funada has proudly served the music products industry in several important ways over the last 40 years. He began his career by working for the Yamaha Corp. in keyboard retailing. Beginning in the late 1960s, Jim oversaw the Yamaha school programs among keyboard dealers in the San Francisco Bay... more
Terren Frenz has been likened to Mr. Holland from the film “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” a dedicated and long lasting music educator who cares deeply about bringing music into the lives of his students. At one point in his teaching career, Terren drove the school bus to ensure his music students were never... more