OH Taxonomy
Roger Smith began playing the piano and singing in church at an early age, quickly falling in love with the way people reacted to the music he performed. He was introduced to the Hammond organ thanks to a friend from school whose uncle was the legendary Jimmy McGriff. Jimmy shared his love of the...
Stefano Trabucchi’s father loved music and encouraged his son to play the violin when he was eight. Stefano was fascinated by the instrument and by thirteen wanted to build his own. The following year his supportive parents allowed him to travel to Cremona to study violin making in the same town as...
Joe Cecere established a small music school in 1967 in Southern Australia. As a teacher, he wanted to provide a safe and welcoming place for students at all levels to learn and appreciate music. Joe often provided meals for his students and even drove them to and from school so they wouldn’t miss...
DJ Keith Shocklee was first introduced to DJing at a local Long Island youth center in the 1970s. He soon started performing at other youth centers in the area as well as house parties, living up to the program’s goal of keeping kids off the street. As his career developed, he began working with...
DJ Babu enjoys his journey teaching the artform of turntablism, a term he is credited for coining. Since buying his first set of mismatched turntables when he was seventeen, Babu has accomplished a lot, including wining the ITF World Team DJ battle title, producing one of the most popular battle...
Fred Armisen is an award-winning comedian and writer who was a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 2002-2013. Playing drums since he was a kid, Fred was heavily involved with punk rock bands in the Chicago area beginning in the mid-1980s. While his acting career took off, Fred has stayed true...
Smaragda Chrysostomou is a board member of the International Society for Music Education and serves as an advocate throughout the world in such organizations as the International Coalition during each Anaheim NAMM Show. Her dedication to music education runs deep and covers the concerns of general...
Claudio Cecere grew up in the music store his father established in Southern Australia. He learned to play drums at an early age and started giving music lessons while still in school. His part time job with the store expanded and he soon realized he wanted to make a career of it, working side by...
DJ Ralph M still remembers a Halloween party he attended in 1982, where he was first introduced to hip-hop and break dancing. He was fascinated by the turntable and his dream was to become a Mixmaster on KDAY, a famous Los Angeles radio station. When he was thirteen, he received that opportunity...
DJ Quest thought he was going to be a rapper while his cousin would DJ but once he saw the turntable set up at home he was hooked and never looked back. Quest is a founding member of the Bullet Proof Scratch Hamsters/Space Travelers who created one of the first DJ battle records Hamster Breaks....