OH Taxonomy
Dave Helms is the owner of Muncie Music Center. He joined the store right out of high school and had the opportunity to purchase the business in the early 2000s. By 2012, Dave was underway in designing a new building for the store, which is complete with teaching studios, a band repair shop, as...
John Trakas was hired by Ziggy Coyle to serve in the store's accounting department. John grew in the company over the years as did the store, which had multiple locations throughout the Ohio area. During his NAMM Oral History interview, John spoke about Ziggy's background and strengths as a band...
Jim Swearingen began composing for his students. He soon realized his music was not only helping students learn to play, but was also encouraging them since the music was similar to popular music the students heard on the radio. Soon his work got the attention of Barnhouse Music, which has...
Robert Gillespie was teaching at Ohio State University in the music department when he developed and hosted a summer workshop for violin teachers. In addition to his regular teaching, playing, and the yearly workshop, Dr. Gillespie co-wrote one of the most popular and regarded method books for the...
Phyllis Snedeker has worked for Stanton's Sheet Music Service since the 1960s and was still at work several days a week in 2016 when she was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History program. When she began, the founder and his wife were still running the store which was one of the largest sheet music...
Christopher Weait attended Potsdam's music program in the late 1950s, the same time as John O'Reilly and Sandy Feldstein. After teaching music and playing in many orchestras, Christopher began to compose. He published a book, one of the first, on double reed making and soon wrote method books and...
Russell Hill first met Ziggy Coyle in 1957 when the famed retailer hired Russ to help with the business side of the company. Ziggy and Russ made a wonderful team as Russ minded the numbers while Ziggy was out playing and promoting the store. The company grew to several locations throughout Ohio...
Vaughn Wiester recalls the day he played with the Woody Herman band for the first time. The famed leader called out a tune he knew and Larry was ready to jump right in. "They started playing all of these different notes, playing off each other and making such great music I was lost. I realized I...
Pete Cumming began playing a King trombone as a student, never dreaming he would one day work for the company. Growing up outside of Cleveland, Ohio, not far from the King factory, Pete knew much about the famous instruments. After college he briefly worked in the field of Architecture. His...
Richard King is a principal French horn player for the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. He began playing for the orchestra in the 1980s and has enjoyed a long relationship with the nearby Conn-Selmer factory, which produces the horns he plays. Rich is first to point out that a musician is only as...