OH Taxonomy
Tiffany Johnson gets a real kick from serving her school accounts for Southwest Strings and helping each obtain the instruments and services they need in order to provide for their music students. Talking with teachers and getting to know them and their needs has become a favorite part of her job...
Gregg Proniske began working at Southwest Strings in 1998. The distributor of stringed instruments is located in Tucson, Arizona, and specializes in contracts with school music programs around the country. Gregg started out on the phone taking orders and now wears many hats for the company...
Mark Mason has always been interested in technology. He was only ten years old when he began programming computers. He became a technician for Microsoft in the 1990s and played a role in the launch of Windows 2000. After a time as a teacher, Mark found himself at Southwest Strings in Tucson,...
Leslie Stirm is the owner of the Instrumental Music Center in Tucson, Arizona. Joining the store in 2001, Leslie has helped develop the store’s team, which has a strong focus on customer service and a strong knowledge base on the products and instruments they sell. Leslie is also a strong advocate...
Nancy Kewin Smith is a pioneering senior executive who served the music products industry in an era in which she was among a small number of women in high-ranking positions. After earning her degree in music, Nancy first entered the music industry in sales at West LA Music. She then joined the Moog...
Joyce Moore has been encouraged by many friends and family members for years to write a book. After her NAMM interview, we concluded the same thing. Joyce was there when Jackie Wilson recorded “Higher and Higher.” She had an onboard tour of the very plane that crashed two months later, killing Otis...
Sam Moore and his singing partner Dave Prater helped put Stax Records on the map with their string of top hits in the 1960s. Their powerful performances inspired their nicknames of Double Dynamite and The Sultans of Sweat. They began recording together in 1965 and helped redefine soul music of the...
Denny Mack has been surrounded by music his entire life! His father was a Vaudeville performer and it seems all Denny ever wanted to do was be involved with music. He played drums at sock-hops when he was in school and continued to be in rock trios throughout college. Along the way he developed a...
Michael Campion has attended the NAMM Show since the late 1970s, first as a wide-eyed musician, then as a retailer and finally as an exhibitor. Tracing his evolving roles at the show mirrors his fascinating career in the music industry. Playing in garage bands led to his involvement with...
Joel Silverman, the sales and marketing guy behind several innovative pro audio products and the founder of Silverfish Audio, has had quite a musical journey! As a kid he played clarinet, drums and guitar in school and looks back fondly on his high school band director and the day the Beatles...