Oral History - all
Carl Lieberman has a fascinating career as a piano technician. Not only does Carl tune and maintain the pianos for recording studios in Southern California, for over 50 years he has provided this service for the Princess Cruise line. His parents owned the first Yamaha piano store in the United... more
Isaac Sadigursky credits much of his understanding and passion for music to the school he attended in his native Russia. He began attending music school at the age of five and developed skills on the accordion and clarinet strong enough to perform in the symphony orchestra and the military band.... more
Christy Coobatis is a college music professor whose amazing musical journey includes playing professionally before he was a teenager, beta testing guitars for Leo Fender, and helping to create a guitar synthesizer for Allan Holdsworth! Christy’s latest and longest tenure as a teacher has been at... more
Shawn Bruce played piano and guitar as a teenager, not knowing at the time he would have a 20-plus-year career with the Piano Technicians Guild! With a background as a newspaper reporter and with such organizations as the auctioneers association, Shawn understood the importance of communication and... more
Delwin Fandrich, as a teenager, often spent time with his older brother Darrell, who was a piano technician. Delwin slowly developed his own skills with the trade and focused on learning all he could about the design of the pianos he worked on. After serving in the US Air Force during the Vietnam... more
Kathy Maxwell answered an ad in the newspaper for an opening at the main office for the Piano Technicians Guild in 2000. The Kansas City, Missouri-based association was seeking help with its educational and training programs. Having a background as a pianist and in teaching, Kathy applied for and... more
Dennis Hallmeyer has fond memories of his years playing mallet percussion in the school’s marching band, eventually progressing to the xylophone. Beginning in the 7thgrade Dennis took a keen interest in computers and even developed websites for local businesses in his small hometown. After his... more
Dustin Barlow is the head instrument repair technician for Bertrand’s Music in San Marcos, California. He joined the store in 2006 and has since become the repair shop manager as well as one of their repairman. His love of musical instrument repair started when he was still in high school when he... more
Jeff Bertrand is the president of the music company his parents started back in 1983. His father, John Sr., a former band director wanted to provide much-needed support and supplies to schools in his local area, which was San Bernadino, California. Jeff began working in the store cleaning clarinets... more
John Bertand was not yet 15 years old when he began working in the music store his parents established in 1983 in San Bernardino, California. He remembers helping move glass display cases before the store was opened and soon realized he really enjoyed being there. He developed friendships with the... more
Rafael Perez played a variety of instruments at an early age. He played saxophone in his school’s marching and jazz bands and with several local groups as a teenager. Right out of high school he was hired to play in Solomon Burke’s band as they played New Years' Eve 2000 in Italy. That and other... more
Dale Dawalt admits he knew little about band instruments being a guitarist when he first joined the team at San Diego County Music Exchange in 1990. He was however, eager to learn and he had a fantastic mentor, Dan Parker. Dan opened the store in 1988 and after selling the store to Dale a few years... more
Keith Holzman cut his teeth as a theater director and lighting designer in New York. In 1964 he joined Elektra Records, which his brother Jac formed back in 1950. Keith coordinated production of all the label’s releases and later ran Elektra’s spin-off classical label, Nonesuch. The label released... more
Boden Sandstrom is the founder of Woman Sound and a pioneering audio engineer who helped define the sound of the women’s music movement in America beginning in the 1970s. She was on hand for hundreds of marches, protests, concerts, and festivals and worked long and hard to provide the best possible... more
Christian Wissmuller began playing the violin at the age of four, encouraged by his classically trained guitarist father and vocalist mother. Christian went on to learn other instruments and continues to play in several bands. Along the way, he earned a degree in English and Journalism at Boston... more
Brian Leshon began playing in his school jazz band when he was just thirteen years old. However, as early as his high school years, Brian had a strong interest in the recording process. He joined the Cherokee Studios team in 1975 and was on hand and participated in many historic recordings. He soon... more
Marlene Hutchinson has come up with several clever ways to encourage people to become music makers. With an emphasis on fun and ease, she had such success with her own guitar students that she wrote a number of method books all with the aim of empowering first-time musicians and inspiring those... more
Paul Brett knows a good story when he hears one and when he began digging into the history of the Bartell Guitar Company, he was hooked. Researching the California guitar manufacturer from the 1960s was not easy from his home in England, yet Paul was fascinated. In 2021 he published the book,... more
Robb Lawrence loves playing the guitar as well as gathering the history of his instruments. He has written books and articles for magazines, including Guitar Player and has provided lectures and college classes mostly based on his deep interest in the early days of the electric guitar. Over the... more
Ray Russell is the noted English studio musician and composer who has also performed with a number of bands over his long career including the prog rock group Mouse. His guitar can be heard on hundreds of records with such artists as David Bowie, Gil Evans and Roxy Music. Working with Sir George... more