Oral History - all
Birth Date: December 13, 1941
Deceased Date: February 16, 2020
Bob Rissi was the founder of Risson Amplifier Company, which produces Made-in-America products based on Bob’s own designs. He began designing amplifiers in 1960 when he was hired by Leo Fender himself. He later worked at Rickenbacker before forming his own company in 1971. In addition to his... more
Allen Riley served as the district sales manager for the Baldwin Piano Company. Allen learned guitar as a child and continues to play music. He became a Minister for several years before he found an opportunity to work for Mississippi Music as a piano and organ salesman in 1981. He worked in one... more
Craig Richard is a professional saxophonist who has played with the likes of Kenny G and was hired by Bobby Dukoff Mouthpiece Company’s president, Nic Hernandez, as product specialist. Within that role Craig studies the many mouthpieces both past and present to determine sound quality. He plays... more
James Reeder is the piano technician who formed James Reeder Piano in Lansing, Michigan, as both a repair and retail business. With a strong background in the restoration of pianos, Jim sought to hire top craftsmen to create the best service possible. Among those he hired was his father, who had... more
Birth Date: February 5, 1915
Deceased Date: August 11, 2013
Elmer Reeder and his brother purchased a sawmill outside of Lansing, Michigan, right after World War II. It was during that time that Elmer became an expert in wood, an important part of his career years later. When his son, Jim, opened a piano shop and retail store called James Reeder Piano,... more
Larry Ramirez had a fascinating career in music! As a trumpet player he landed his dream job designing instruments for many of his childhood heroes! While working for Leblanc, Larry was assigned to repair the instruments of many of the company’s top endorsers. Over time he developed friendships... more
Ramon Portal moved from Cuba to the United States in 1962 and heard of an inventory job at Guild Guitar and, as he often has said, his American dream came true. Ramon worked his way up within the company until he was appointed Vice President. Ramon was connected with the company during many major... more
Brian Nunney was born in Cheltenham, England, and served in the Royal Air Force for four years before he was hired by the Littlewoods Department store. The company purchased a small music store and asked Brian to run it –as a result he found himself in the music industry. After working in music... more
Robert Neu grew up in the Cincinnati area and went to work for Baldwin Piano Company on August 2, 1946, right after World War II. In fact, Bob started out as a time keeper to keep track of production. He recalls in the first few months of working there, military guards were at each entrance since... more
Maudie Moore was hired by Gibson Guitars in 1962 to do small piece work and soon branched out to engraving, which became a specialty for her over the next several decades. In fact, she opened her own shop called Moore’s Engraving in Kalamazoo in 1972, which allowed her to work with several other... more
Clyde Moore is the son of the founder of Crown International, an innovative sound system and pro audio company in Elkhart, Indiana for which Clyde once served as president. Over the years Crown has patented tape recorders, speakers and loud-system products as well as other pro audio systems. The... more
John Meyer founded Meyer Sound Laboratory back in 1979 and soon became an important pioneer and innovator in sound reinforcement. He worked to establish a balance in the sound created by the microphones, signal processors, amps and loudspeakers to produce the desired sound for both live and... more
Bill Mathews is the Executive Director of the National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians (NAPBIRT). In that role Bill has expanded the organization’s meaningful education sessions offered during its annual conference, regional clinics, and unique hand-on training at... more
Birth Date: April 12, 1929
Deceased Date: October 29, 2020
Mari Mach spent nearly 40 years in the music industry in and around Elkhart, Indiana. She began her career in the sales department working for C. G. Conn for four years before being offered a job at the Gemeinhardt Flute Company. While at Gemeinhardt, she worked with Danny Henkin, who was then the... more
Denny Lawson began learning and playing instrumental music while in college. He soon found he had a great interest in playing music and switched his major to music education. While he was a band director, a music store had an opening on its repair bench and Denny took the job to learn basic... more
Kathi Kretzer is the founder of Kretzer Piano in Jupiter, Florida. She established the store in 1985 and has since been an active member of the music industry as well as her local community. The store is the authorized Yamaha Piano dealer in the area and has provided countless programs and events... more
Don Johnston has become a well-respected sales manager for the Fender Musical Instruments Corp. He was hired just after CBS Musical purchased the famed electric guitar company in May 1965 and stayed with Fender via CBS until the brand was sold to a group of employees, headed by Bill Schultz. He... more
David Horine opened a small piano store in Bloomington, Illinois in the 1980s. David became a piano technician and gathered a nice reputation for tuning and repairs before he decided to open his own retail store. He found in short order that his customers were eager to try new models of the... more
Dan Herbert played trumpet as a kid and later switched to drums to form a rock band in the days following the Beatle’s popularity in the early 1960s. During the summers, he would work part time for the local music store, Willis Music. Dan remained a professional musician for several decades... more
Takashi “Hagi” Hagiwara has been called the “godfather of Yamaha drums” as the unofficial ambassador of the company’s percussive products around the world. His father was a silversmith in Tokyo, a profession he was thought to continue, however he decided to take a part time job as a teenager in a... more