Crane Institute for Music Business to Host Sandy Feldstein Industry Roundtable at 2012 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 2012 NAMM Show exploring career opportunities in the music education and music products sectors.

The open forum discussion called “How to Get a Job In the Industry” will be hosted from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012 in the NAMM Foundation Learning Lounge located inside the Anaheim Hilton’s California Ballrooms A and B, and will be moderated by NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond.

The event is open to all 2012 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.

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:

Larry Morton
Hal Leonard Corporation
Larry Morton is president of Hal Leonard Corporation, the world’s largest music publisher. Morton joined the company in 1990 and has served as president since 1999. Morton formerly served on the NAMM Board of Directors from 1999 to 2002. He has also previously served on the boards of the Music Publishers’ Association, Retail Print Music Dealers Association, Make Music Inc., and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Morton holds music degrees from Eastern Illinois University and University of North Texas, and is a lifelong active musician.

Chuck Surack
Sweetwater Sound, Inc.
Chuck Surack is the president and founder of Sweetwater Sound, a retailer of high-technology and combo gear. He is active in local civic organizations and has received a variety of awards and acknowledgements, including the “Business Committee for the Arts’ BCA 10 Award” and “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst and Young and Business People Magazine.

John D’Addario
D’Addario & Company
John D’Addario III is the executive vice president at D'Addario & Company, Inc. He began working fulltime at the company in 1996, when he started as a production manager. He then took on the responsibility as the D’Addario Strings brand manager for several years before being promoted to Vice President of Sales. During his five-year tenure in that post he guided the company's global sales from $52 million to $90 million. Today, John leads the company's global operations, strategic business planning and human resources.

Remo Belli
Remo, Inc.
Remo Belli revolutionized the music products industry by introducing the Weather King, the single most popular drumhead in the world. As a jazz drummer, Belli was looking for ways to improve the percussive products he was using. Once his team of chemists found the perfect formula, he took it around to his many drummer friends to test the product. Belli has also pioneered the use of music and wellness with his dear friend Karl Bruhn and a wave of instruments aimed at getting people of all ages involved with music and music making.

Craigie Zildjian
Avedis Zildjian, Co.
Craigie Zildjian has accomplished what no other woman has done in her company’s 389-year history—she has become president of the Zildjian Cymbal Company. Following in her father’s footsteps (Armand Zildjian 1921-2002), she has met the challenges of growing the business through a merger with the Vic Firth Company, the global leader in drumsticks, as well as launching the first acoustic electric cymbal, Gen 16.

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.

Music educators interested in attending any or all of the events during “Music Education Days” can register online here before Jan. 2, 2012.

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 2012 NAMM Show here.

Registration fees are waived for qualified university- and college-level students through Jan. 2, 2012. 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/2012/travel.

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).