Oral History - all
Bob Kohl was hired by Music & Arts in Maryland just before turning sixteen years old and has been in the industry ever since that time. The store was located in the local mall and he began working within the sheet music department, an area of the industry he would soon fall in love with and... more
Paul Graves began delivering pianos in 1957 up in Minnesota before moving to Alabama where he continued to deliver. He soon discovered that he would make more money if he sold the pianos and the love of selling soon took hold. In 1960, Paul opened his first piano store in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He... more
Birth Date: July 21, 1930
Deceased Date: May 9, 2019
Preston Epps was the percussionist who had a top 20 hit recording in 1959 entitled "Bongo Rock." The success of the song led to additional recordings and concert tours that forever tied his name with the bongos! His fascinating career in music included gigs with Count Basie, Ben Pollack and even... more
Birth Date: February 3, 1932
Deceased Date: March 4, 2021
Fred Davis began playing saxophone as a boy and started his own band, the Freddy Davis Orchestra, which played around Ohio during World War II. He was well equipped with reeds for his gigs as his mother owned a small music store in Marysville, where Fred grew up. After working in his mother's store... more
Russ Bullis took up the trumpet as a child and played throughout high school. During his college years he gave trumpet lessons at the local music store and took a strong interest in teaching. He was later a band director after college for six years. He taught at the same school, in Lawrenceville... more
Betsy Bullis began singing in church at an early age and fell in love with music and music making. After college she taught choir where her husband, Russ, was the band director. After Russ began working at Paige's Music in the sheet music department, Betsy joined him. The sheet music department... more
Bob Berkman has a passion about the player piano and the player piano rolls. Bob's grandparents had a player piano when he was a child and he grew up fascinated by the instrument. Once while in dental school, on a long weekend, Bob traveled to the QRS factory to make his own roll, having no idea... more
Cecilia Rodrigo is the only daughter of famed Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo. In addition to her colorful life growing up in such a musical home, Cecilia’s passion for music led her to establish and run the music publishing company for her father’s music as well as a foundation dedicated to her... more
Zafar Geoffrey grew up in Sialkot Pakistan, the home base for his family’s music company. His grandfather established the company in 1912 with a focus on providing high quality bagpipes for the military. The MH Geoffrey & Company grew in product line with the involvement of the founder’s two... more
Cordelia von Gymnich was born in Frankfurt, which is ironic considering that for so many members of the music product industry, she is Frankfurt! Her love of music began at an early age, where her love of singing was born. After college, Cordelia was hired by the Messe Frankfurt group and in 2000... more
Michael Thomas grew up in Los Angles where he took to music at an early age. He formed a swing band and became a professional musician. Along the way he began making his own valve oil and gave it away to friends for years before he decided he should form a company to sell the product and to... more
Kate Riessland was born in England in the years following World War II and soon found she had an interest in learning all she could about the German culture. While in Germany, in 1969, she answered an ad for a job with the Götz Company. The company was looking for someone with perfect English and... more
Ivan Peykov grew up in the music business as his father formed a company to make traditional Bulgarian instruments. After attending college with a focus on engineering, Ivan returned to work with his father and helped manage the production of the manufacturing process for such instruments as... more
Bonka Peykov has a great deal of respect for the process of making high quality musical instruments. When she joined her husband’s family business, she worked long and hard to learn each step in the process so that she could contribute to the areas she was needed most. Her dedication to both the... more
Birth Date: June 15, 1932
Deceased Date: November 6, 2017
Matanya Ophee was born in Jerusalem at the time when it was Palestine. He began playing guitar as a young boy and continued to play it as a hobby while he trained to be an airplane pilot. He flew for the Israeli air force and later as a commercial pilot. When he retired from flying, he... more
Franz Moser is a student of instrument acoustics as well as a double bass player who often asked himself, “What conditions need to be fulfilled for a stringed instrument to immediately respond with a clear, powerful tone at all times?” The search for an answer took Franz on an educational journey... more
Claudio Formisano grew up in Naples in a musical family where at a young age his three brothers convinced Claudio to play drums to complete their Beatle-like band! When he was 12 years old he formed his own band, which he called Beautiful! Claudio likes to say his life has been music and he... more
Ahmet Ediz grew up in Turkey and began playing the violin at an early age. He became a professional concert musician and traveled with several orchestras. Along the way he noticed a need to better care for his instrument, particularly regarding the wood. He noticed that even the instruments of... more
Sorriso dos Santos grew up in Brazil and began playing the drums when he was 16 years old. He has been playing ever since! His nickname in Portuguese is Sorriso, which means smile-- a great way of describing him and his infectious laugh. While playing and teaching music, Sorriso was asked by the... more
Riccardo Clerici is the grandson of Cosimo Pomarico, the classically trained clarinetist who in 1960 began making his own unique mouthpieces. Mr. Pomarico developed a crystal mouthpiece, which became the signature product of his company. In addition to the designs, he also built the facing... more