OH Taxonomy
Harold Wheeler remembers standing in front of the large orchestra about to raise his hands to conduct when it hit him - "I am at the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Olympics!" That epic moment was one of many highlights in a diverse career that included being a studio musician (he was a member of...
Jonathan Tunick’s impressive career began with taking piano lessons as a kid and later learning the clarinet and saxophone. Attending LaGuardia Performing Arts High School and working with his teacher and theater director Joseph Adler helped propel his talents into a career. While working on...
Peter Schwartz is a pianist, composer, and synthesist who has worked for KORG on such projects as the M1, Wavestation, Prophecy and OASYS. After a wonderful experience with his classical music education and growing up alongside the explosion of synthesizer technology, Peter landed his first job in...
Seymour Bernstein shared great insight into his career and life in music during his NAMM Oral History interview. He proudly spoke of the first moment he put his hands on the white keys of his aunt’s piano and how he felt the direction of his life was set in stone. Seymour had some wonderful...
Dave Pearlman grew up listening to his father play horn and his mother playing acoustic guitar. His father actually had a recording studio in Plainview, TX! Dave started his musical journey playing the violin, but switched to the guitar after hearing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. In...
John Maier had parents that were both singers and would often hang out at the theater where his parents would perform. He used to get in trouble for tapping his pencil during tests and would have to take his test outside of the classroom – early signs of a promising drummer! After developing a love...
Mike Vaccaro is a true piano salesman veteran! Having worked in the piano business for over 40 years, selling for several retail stores and running his own dealership for over 20 years, Mike has sold his share of instruments! He played guitar in the US Navy Band during the Vietnam War era and among...
Daniel Haver was heavily influenced by the music he heard at home as a kid and wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an entrepreneur. He combined his love of music with his business skills and began working at Native Instruments right from the start. Daniel recalled in his 2021 NAMM...
Scott Lombardo worked in the music products industry since he was fourteen years old! His passion quickly developed after hearing The Beatles three years earlier. He would drill holes and attach wingnuts to his sister’s acoustic guitar to make it look like knobs on an electric guitar. Scott’s first...
Tony Newton was nicknamed “Baby Funk Brother” by the original studio musicians at Motown Records where he began working in 1964. His first session with the Funk Brothers was the song “Baby Love” by the Supremes, which was released on the album Where Did Our Love Go. Tony’s long career in music took...