OH Taxonomy
Jerry Michelsen started playing the piano when he was four years old. His father worked for the Federal Aviation Agency, so Jerry moved many times during his childhood, but never stopped taking piano lessons. He went on to study classical piano at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee,...
Jack Hill was introduced to music at a very young age as his uncle was a professional musician. Jack started taking guitar lessons at eight years old, which he paid for himself with the money he made from his paper route. He started playing with older musicians and got quite a few gigs early on. At...
Roy Good, like many, was first influenced by The Beatles when they came over to the United States as part of the British Invasion. After finishing school, Roy took as many college music classes as he could from composition to vocal ensembles. He took his passion for music further when he accepted a...
Barbara Honig found out about the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music when she joined their New Horizons band - a band that offers learning new instruments and playing in a concert band setting to adults. After playing some percussion in the band, and then switching to the clarinet, Barbara...
Jacinta Brunkala grew up taking piano lessons, without even owning a piano. She would use a friend’s piano when she could, but would often pretend with a set of keys she made out of cardboard to practice. When her parents purchased an upright piano a few years later, Jacinta was hooked to the sound...
Zach Phillips lives and breathes the music products industry, and this has led him into a role that appears to have been tailored specifically for him as the Director of Professional Development for NAMM. With a passion for music products and an innate ability to educate others, Zach has been...
Marilyn Shepard taught music in public schools for thirty-five years. Ever since she was young, she was involved in making music, along with her twin sister, as well as collecting instruments from different cultures. After she retired from teaching, the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music...
John Tedeschi started playing music again when his son took up the saxophone in the school band and needed someone to practice improvisation with. John had been playing the guitar since high school for fun, and playing with his son gave him the itch for more. He began buying more gear, practicing...
Françoise Dahod was born and raised in France, and remembers classical music often being played around the house. In her 20s, she came to the United States and was first introduced to new types of music. Her daughter played the clarinet, piano, and sang, which showed Françoise how important music...
Trish Gapik has been volunteering at the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music for quite some time now, and could not have wished for anything better. Her aunt was a singer during WWII and has her picture displayed in Gallery 3 of the museum. Trish has great memories of her aunt singing, as well...