OH Taxonomy
Takeomi Nishimura found his way to Suzuki Musical Instruments while studying engineering in college. Upon returning home from school one day a friend suggested he work for the company and the rest is history. Within the company, Takeomi has served a variety of roles including production control,...
Don Menza is the noted jazz saxophonist who worked with some of the giants of jazz during his long and storied career. Don sat in the Maynard Ferguson’s Orchestra for a few years beginning in 1960 and performed with Stan Kenton and Buddy Rich. Over the years Don has been a regular at the NAMM Show...
Henry Diltz was the official photographer at Woodstock and has photographed over 200 record album covers including the iconic Morrison Hotel. His images have defined an era of music and inspired generations of artists. Henry sat down for his NAMM Oral History interview at the Anaheim trade show in...
Seah Kok Hwa was born in Malaysia and wanted to make music when he first heard the Beatles. His uncle gave young Seah a guitar and he learned to play some of his favorite songs. After working in the oil business for many years, he decided it was time to return to the roots of his passion. As a...
Reiko Suzuki discovered her passion for music at a young age as she watched her father and mother operate a company that manufactured harmonicas and other instruments. This coupled with her father, Manji Suzuki’s desire to spread the joy of music to children later served as her inspiration to...
Jim Peterik was just a teenager when he joined a rock band and knew what he wanted to do when he grew up! He began writing songs and formed several bands including The Ides of March, which scored a couple of hit recordings on songs Jim wrote including “Vehicle”. He also formed the band Survivor and...
Denny Tedesco archived his father’s career as a noted studio musician in Los Angeles in the award winning documentary, The Wrecking Crew. Tommy Tedesco, along with other top rated studio musicians in LA in the 1960s and 70s, have been called The Wrecking Crew, which Denny used as the title of his...
Steve Dillon has a great appreciation and knowledge of vintage band and orchestra instruments. The first musician in the Dillon family can be documented back to the 1700s, thus the store’s slogan “Dillon Music: Bringing America Music since 1776". Steve became an expert on vintage instruments and...
Jun-Ichi Miki joined the Roland Corporation in 1977 right after graduating from university. After working in research of sound synthesis and analysis for electronic musical instruments, in 1994 he joined the Board of Directors. In 2013, Jun-ichi was named Roland’s new CEO and his background in...
Seiki Kato is the president of KORG, the Japan based electronics company that has created innovative musical products since his father first established the company in the 1970s. Seiki provided meaningful insight into the international growth of KORG as well as his philosophy moving forward as it...