Crane Institute for Music Business to Host Sandy Feldstein Industry Roundtable at 2011 NAMM Show

The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) announced today that the Crane Institute for Music Business at SUNY Potsdam will be presenting an interactive roundtable forum during the 2011 NAMM Show exploring career opportunities in the music education and music products sectors.

The open forum discussion called “Enhancing the Music Education and Music Business Partnership” is being hosted from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 15 in the NAMM Foundation Learning Lounge located inside the Anaheim Hilton’s California Ballrooms A and B. The event is open to all 2011 NAMM Show badge holders, and is especially recommended for music educators attending the NAMM Show as part of "Music Education Days," and music industry college and post-graduate students attending the NAMM Show as part of NAMM’s “Generation Next” program.

Music educators can register online before Dec. 15, 2010, to attend any or all of the events during "Music Education Days" at: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=5w7ndndab&oeidk=a07e2zv82j4fb2c366e

College and post-graduate students studying music business or music education can find out how to register for the “Generation Next” collegiate program at the 2011 NAMM Show HERE. Registration fees are waived for qualified university- and college-level students through Dec. 15, 2010. Attendees will be responsible for their travel expense to the NAMM Show and other related expenses.

To secure a hotel room, visit: http://www.namm.org/thenammshow/2011/hotels

The interactive roundtable event unites the Crane Institute for Music Business, a leader in music education for the past 125 years, with the NAMM Show and its global network of music industry professionals. Both organizations share goals to inspire ongoing collaboration and innovation in the music industry.

The roundtable discussion is dedicated to SUNY Potsdam alumnus and long-time music industry icon Sandy Feldstein.

The roundtable panelists include:

Andy Zildjian
President, SABIAN, Ltd.
Andy Zildjian has worked for Sabian from the beginning, when he started in the Canadian factory before heading south to Virginia, where he worked as a road representative. Andy Zildjian’s success in the field landed him the top spot at Sabian’s East Coast office, where he headed up artist relations as well as sales and sales support. In 1996, he was appointed head of South American sales while maintaining his artist relations duties. Zildjian was vice president of the company’s U.S. operations since 2001, and became president in 2006.

Larry Thomas
Chief Executive Officer, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation
Larry E. Thomas has been chief executive officer of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation since Aug. 1, 2010 and is the chief executive officer of Guitar Center Music Education Foundation. He was co-chief executive officer at Guitar Center Inc. from 1999 to 2004, and its chief executive officer and president from 1991 to 1999.

Jay Wanamaker
Senior Vice President of Percussion, KMC Music
Jay Wanamaker currently oversees the branding of all KMC percussion brands worldwide, including Latin Percussion®, Toca® Percussion, Gretsch® Drums, Gibralter® Hardware and Sabian® Cymbals (U.S.).
He is a 30-year music industry veteran whose background includes serving as the vice president/general manager of the Yamaha Corporation of America, Pro Audio & Combo Division. He has designed numerous percussion products under his signature line and launched Yamaha's line of concert and marching percussion products. Wanamaker is a renowned percussionist, author and composer who served on the faculty of the University of Southern California (USC) Thornton School of Music.

Susan Lipp
President, Full Compass Systems
Susan Lipp, has been a leader and long-time advocate for keeping music and arts programs in schools by increasing awareness of the benefits to young people and ultimately the communities in which they live. Her involvement has helped create new initiatives that will open doors of opportunity, giving more children a chance to expand their own creative skills and build strong foundations for their futures.

Joe Lamond
President and CEO, NAMM
Starting in 1982 as a bookkeeper for a small, independent retailer in Sacramento, Calif., Joe Lamond moved to Skip’s Music in 1989, where he started in the warehouse. Armed with passion, drive and a natural ability for marketing, Lamond ultimately rose to the position of executive vice president, overseeing the $12 million company. Those years of retail experience were critically important in shaping Lamond’s views about the industry, specifically, the important relationship between supplier and dealer. In addition, under his leadership since 2001, NAMM’s resources have grown significantly, enabling NAMM to invest more into research, grants and market-building programs than at any time in the association’s history.

Carol “Kickie” Britt
Executive Director of The Crane Institute for Music Business and Coordinator of Music Business at SUNY Potsdam Carole “Kickie” Britt will serve as moderator for the roundtable. Kickie is responsible for the music business program at SUNY Potsdam, where more than 100 students pursue music industry-related studies. Kickie’s background includes music education at every level from elementary school to university, classical and jazz vocal performance, choral conducting, and arts administration. She has been teaching music industry studies for more than two decades, and cites Sandy Feldstein, her aural skills professor as a freshman at SUNY Potsdam, as one of her most profound influences.

About Crane Institute of Music Business at SUNY Potsdam
SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music is a community of educators, musicians and scholars in an environment dedicated to helping every student achieve his or her career and life goals.

Crane consists of 590 undergraduate and 30 graduate students and a faculty of 70 teachers and professional staff. Crane is housed in the Julia E. Crane Music Center on the north side of the campus that two classroom buildings (Bishop and Schuette Halls), three concert areas (Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall, 1290 seats; the Sara M. Snell Music Theater, 452 seats; and the Ralph Wakefield Lecture and Recital Hall, 130 seats) as well as extensive supporting areas.

The Crane School was founded in 1886 by Julia Crane (1855-1923) as the Crane Institute of Music and was one of the first institutions in the country to have programs dedicated to preparing specialists in teaching music in the public schools. Throughout Crane's history the school's primary mission has been to educate music teachers with an emphasis on excellence in performance. At Crane, learning to be a teacher does not exclude or limit music performance, but uses excellence in performance as the foundation on which teaching is based. Crane is proud to have many of the finest music educators, scholars and performers in the United States as members of the faculty, all working hard to make Crane a vital, innovative and exciting place.

About NAMM
NAMM is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $17 billion international musical instruments and products industry. NAMM’s activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of approximately 9,000 Member companies. For more information about NAMM or the proven benefits of making music, interested parties can visit www.namm.org or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).