Saxophones
Seth Strickland had a wonderful grade school music teacher who was a great inspiration for him. Seth played saxophone throughout high school and in the jazz band. He later performed in a local blues band and whenever he needed a reed or a repair, he always went to Roper Music in Grand Junction,...
Rafael Perez played a variety of instruments at an early age. He played saxophone in his school’s marching and jazz bands and with several local groups as a teenager. Right out of high school he was hired to play in Solomon Burke’s band as they played New Years' Eve 2000 in Italy. That and other...
Phil Rovner was having some trouble with his intonation as a saxophone player, and decided to design a new approach to attaching the reed to his mouthpiece. As an engineer, he had the knowledge to create this new ligature, which has since been played by musicians around the world. Phil grew up in...
Doug Lawrence was first musically inspired by his father, a woodwinds player. However, at a young age he watched as his older brothers’ professional careers developed and Doug had tunnel vision after that, he wanted to be a professional musician! Latching on to the saxophone, Doug developed a style...
George Reeder and his wife, Lynn, are the owners of Rovner Products, which produces ligatures, mouthpieces and other accessories for musical instruments. The company was established in the 1970s when Phil Rovner, a mechanical engineer and musician, set out to redesign the ligature for his saxophone...
Lynn Reeder did not become actively involved in music until her mid-40’s after receiving a gift certificate for voice lessons from her husband George and son Alex, although an avid listener throughout her life! Those lessons resulted in 13 years of musical performance, singing in a women’s choral...
Julee Laukat is a technician and hand engraver at Cannonball Musical Instruments in Sandy, Utah. Julee is dedicated to her craft, and she is also married to Tevis’ brother. Tevis and his wife Sheryl established the company in 1996 and from nearly the beginning, Julee has pitched in wherever needed...
Massiel Gregory grew up surrounded by music in Guatemala before moving to the United States and settling in the Salt Lake City area. In the early 2000’s she began working at Cannonball Musical Instruments where she was one of the first employees to learn hand engraving. Like so many employees at...
Marietta Robison was living next door to Sheryl and Tevis Laukat in 1996 when the couple approached her for help with their idea to start an instrument company. With a strong background in accounting, Marietta was intrigued by the idea and from the very beginning of the business, which would become...
Matthew McBeth applied for a job at Cannonball Musical Instruments in Sandy, Utah, right after he graduated from high school in 2011. At first Matthew was given the tasks of mowing the grass and other yardwork. He later helped install the shelving in the warehouse, which led to more and more...