OH Taxonomy
Kyoko Hara is proud to continue her family tradition of being involved in the music products industry. It all began in 1919 when her grandfather opened a small store. Her father, Ryoji Okamoto, expanded the company and began providing ukuleles for their customers. The ukulele was a key instrument...
John Hennessey has fond memories of growing up in the family music business. The Music People was established by his father, Jim, in 1979. John helped manage the growth and development of the business from a small distributor to a manufacturing company. John and his sister, Sharon, also played an...
Jens Ritter is the innovative luthier who gained wide attention after a three page article about his instruments ran in a 1996 issue of Guitar & Bass magazine. A few years later, he attended the NAMM Show and his business grew. Among his most favorite projects so far are the instruments he...
Sharon Hennessey and her brother, John, are the co-presidents of The Music People. The company was established by her father, Jim, back in 1979. Sharon worked in every position within the company, knowing from a young age she had a deep passion for the music industry. She worked alongside her...
Jim Wieda was just 14 years old when he was hired to play an organ for Farmer's Music Barn in Illinois. He was hired by Lowrey Organ and took part in their mall development program in the late 1970s. By 2002, Jim was promoted to Regional Sales Manager and then later Vice President. During Jim’s...
Betty Comer has owned and operated Gibson’s Music in Corbin, Kentucky since 1969. When asked about the store, Betty fondly describes Gibson’s as “the Mom and Pop store but just with the Mom” as Betty has single-handily ran the business since it opened its doors. Betty sat down for her NAMM Oral...
Rob Meads recalls his father purchasing a Lowrey Organ and how he could think of nothing he would rather do than have a career making music! As a teenager, Rob was hired by legendary music retailer Swanny Swanson in Minnesota to play an organ in a grocery store, which was a big hit. Rob was trained...
Nan DeStafney served her country as a United States Navy nurse. As she neared retirement, she met navy man Jim DeStafney who had the idea of opening his own music store. The two were married and saw Jim’s vision come true when Blues Angel Music was opened in Florida. Nan has served in the...
Carlos Medina is the owner of Medina and Magma Music in Argentina. His passion for music traces back to his grandfather who played guitar in a local band. In fact, much of the business’ success has involved the family element. For example, he worked with his father for many years and is proud that...
Sabine Grubmüller joined the Bösendorfer Piano company in 2008, the same year the historic piano manufacturer was purchased by Yamaha. In 2015 Sabine was named the Managing Director and outlined a plan to continue the company’s traditions while embracing changes that helped keep the company...