npta oct 2010 newsletter
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We are hosting our Annual Meeting and
Dinner at the Red Lion again this year as
we had so many favorable comments
about the venue last year. Members said
they liked the location because its so easy
to walk to from the convention center.
Mark your calendar for the time and date.
Please RSVP so we can make sure to have the
appropriate amount of food and drink!
SAT. Jan. 15th @ 6:30PM
Red Lion Hotel Anaheim
1850 S Harbor Blvd.
RSVP to dawn.demars@verizon.net
It seems only a short time since the last
NAMM show, but here we are preparing for
another in only three months.
We feel that this last years meeting at the Red
Lion was a good one, well attended and within
walking distance of many of the convention
hotels and the center itself. We hope for even
better attendance this year as we are being
told daily by the media and politicians that the
recession is over. I hope that statement is true
in all respects, that indeed the recession is
over, and that we are on a road to recovery
once again.
This past year has been a challenge for many
of our comrades and the companies they rep-
resent; some of those have been forced to
cease operations due to the uncertainty in the
market place. The rest of us certainly wish
those well in their future endeavors.
I wonder if we had been told all of the things
necessary to succeed in the piano business we
would have had the courage to go forth. No
one told me that I would have to know the his-
tory of each piano company both past and
present, and that I would need to know as much
about those products as my own in order to sell
mine. All of us thoroughly enjoy what we do,
and feel that we have the greatest job in the
world. We need to constantly spread the mes-
sage in order for some younger people to be
elected to join our ranks and continue to bring
music to the masses with joy and enthusiasm.
Election is just around the corner, and most of
us have been through many of them and find
that they are always a cause of consternation.
Once the results are tabulated, whether pleased
or not, most will decide to go on with their nor-
mal activities as they can‘t change anything for a
minimum of another two years and business
usually returns to normal until the politicians
begin campaigning for the next one.
This year at NAMM we will elect a new Presi-
dent for NPTA, Glenn Clutter. Glenn is a long
time industry veteran and a genuinely good guy.
I ask you to give him your support as you have
me for these past two years.
Warmest Regards,
Dick Christian
Inside th i s
i ssue :
President‘s
Notes
1
2011 NAMM
Meeting
1-2
NPTA Road 2
Music Trivia 3
Musical Jokes 3
Industry News 4
Piano Seminar
at NAMM
5
Travel Tips 5
MIM Opens 7-8
Contact Us 9
Sponsors‘ List 9
Spe c ial
po int s of
i nt e r es t :
NAMM Show
Dinner Meeting
Jan 15, 2011
NPTA: The Fu-
ture? Important
Member Vote.
Don’t Miss It!
Musical Instru-
ment Museum
Opens In Arizona
President’s Notes
2011 Namm Meeting & Dinner
The Piano Rag O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 V o l . 1 5 I s s u e 2
BY DiCK CHRiSTiAN
“Because of all of you, the NPTA
will continue for years to come.”
RSVP Requested
National Piano Travelers Association
HAVE
A
LAUGH!
RSVP to dawn.demars@verizon.net
Two very important items need your attention:
1) We need your nominations for this year‘s Lifetime Achievement
Award. Send your nomination, including full name, why you think
they should win the award, and of course your name and contact info.
2) Please see ―NPTA—The Future‖ article in this newsletter. If you are a
2010 paid member, we need you to be at the meeting to vote. If you
cannot attend the meeting in person, we need you to cast your vote by
email, no later than 5 days prior to the meeting. See the article for de-
tails.
NPTA Road Stories
Send in your road stories for future newsletters.
You can change names to protect the
innocent or the guilty.
We know you have more than one!
Email to Dawn DeMars.
Dawn.DeMars@verizon.net
‗
2011 NAMM Mtg/Dinner cont.
T h e P i a n o R a g P a g e 2
“A jazz
musician is a
juggler who
uses harmonies
instead of
oranges.”
Benny Green
“Music is what
feelings sound
like”
Author
Unknown
The first record to sell a million was ―
Chattanoga Choo– Choo, by the Glenn
Miller Orchestra in 1942.
The first US President to own a Steinway
& Sons Square Piano was Andrew John-
son.
When Billy Crystal was a child, his baby-
sitter was the legendary singer Billie Holi-
day.
The Harmonica is the world‘s best selling
musical instrument.
The first to be inducted into the Rock ‗N‘
Roll Hall of Fame was ‗The Coasters‖.
Fun Musical Trivia
A: So you don’t have to retrain the drum-
mers
Q: Why do bagpipers always walk when they
play?
A: To get away from
the noise.
Q: What do you call a beautiful girl on a
trombonist‘s arm?
A: A tattoo
Q: Why was the piano invented?
A: So the band would have a place to set
their beers.
Q: Why are orchestra intermissions limited to
20 minutes?
Funny Musical Jokes
“Alas for those that never sing,
But die with all their music still in
them”. —Oliver Wendal Holmes
“Music
expresses that
which cannot be
put into words
and that which
cannot remain
silent”.
-Victor Hugo
T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 3
advertisement, have corporate sponsors outside our
membership, & much more. One possibility is a pi-
ano lesson scholarship program. Our members
would be the vehicle for getting it set up with their
US dealers where students could apply. (A very
good reason to be a current paid member.) I have
had conversations with some organizations that
would fund such a scholarship program. However,
it‘s impossible to accept their funds without a non–
profit status.
Of course we‘d like to make this decision as soon as
possible. If we are going to go with incorporation
we‘d like to begin raising the $3500 and start the
paperwork as soon as possible.
The structure of our current association does not
require we have a members vote. However, the
board feels the question is so huge, we‘d like the
members to decide the future of their association.
Therefore, we will take a vote at our Annual Meet-
ing & Dinner at NAMM in January. Please see the
special section on our 2011 NAMM meeting in this
newsletter. If you‘re going to attend & vote in per-
son, please RSVP that you‘ll be attending. If you
can‘t attend the meeting please email your vote to
dawn.demars@verizon.net no later than 5 days
prior to the meeting. Your votes will be tabulated
and presented at the meeting. And of course you
must be a 2010 paid member in order to vote.
Dawn Demars, Secretary-Treasurer
We have come to a time to decide the future of our
association. There are 2 very clear paths from which
we need to choose. The need to do so has arisen from
the fact that our association is not incorporated, nor
do we have a non-profit tax status. Frankly, we can-
not continue to exist in our current legal situation.
One choice is certainly the simplest. We merely cease
to exist in the present format. We would not collect
dues. However, we could continue to keep the web-
site open so we could be in communication and I
would volunteer to assist in updating people‘s con-
tact information, etc. We could get together every
year at NAMM and simply meet at a restaurant and
each pay for their meals individually.
The other choice (which I personally would choose) is
we continue the tradition of this association by incor-
porating & filing for a non–profit status. This would
take approximately 6-9 months. The cost will be ap-
proximately $3500 for legal and filing fees. The end
result would be a solid basis from which to run the
association. It would also allow us to sell website
NPTA - The Future?
Industry News
October 6, 2010
How sad it was to hear of Karl Bruhn‘s passing . He was a
great friend of all who loves & believes in the benefits of play-
ing music. He touched many of our lives in so many ways. We
will miss him for his kindness & generosity as well as his
many contributions to our industry. Our thoughts and
prayers go to his family.
To hear Karl‘s own words, you can view his 2008 NAMM Oral
History. The link is on our website. You can also view a
―Tribute to Karl Bruhn‖ on youtube.com.
T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 4
Remembering Karl Bruhn
We Need Your Vote!
MONEY SAVING TIPS
Travel globally, eat locally—and avoid tourist
traps!
1. Familiarize yourself with currency of the
country and Rate of Exchange.
2. Keep your options open: Take your credit
card or ATM card, have a backup plan in-
case of PIN problems
3. Be prepared in case the ATM machine keeps
you credit card. It happens!
♪ Hotwire.com has the ―hottest‖ hotel deals
for US travelers as reported by our members
TRAVEL TIP
UPS has boxes specifically for luggage. You can
ship your luggage and it will be waiting for you
at your destination.
You‘ll save time checking in at the airport.
You won‘t have to wait in baggage claim.
No airline baggage fees
Reusable boxes
Small (55lbs) and Large (85lbs) sizes
Hand delivered to your destination
Certified packing experts can help
Tracking is standard
Travel Tips
Future
Travel
Tips
Coming
From
American
Express
&
AAA
Piano Seminar At NAMM
Special Invitation for Piano Dealers Only
T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 5
―The piano industry has changed, and stores have to change with it. Pi-
anos are still being sold and people are buying them somewhere. It is also
Highly Profitable. That is the subject of the private Friday session on how
to sell one or two more pianos a week than you are currently selling‖, says
Bob Popyk. Four industry experts will be joining Bob. It will be free and
by invitation only. NAMM is limiting the number of people attending.
Mark it on your calendar and talk with your dealers.
To save a seat or get further information, email Bob at RPopyk@aol.com
BOB POPYK
Founder of
Bentley-Hall, Inc.,
Columnist for
Music Trades and
NPTA Member
How to Increase Your Piano Sales by 25%
This Coming Year!
New Website Launched
Read our members’ comments
What a fantastic job on the
web site. In great ta
ste and
well organized.
Bill W
elborn
Wow.
First Class!!
Ruth Phillips
THANK YOU
A huge thank you goes out to Dailen Gunter
who assisted the NPTA with
the launch and configuring our website.
If you or your dealers need consulting or assistance
with creating, editing, uploading websites or blogs,
this is our “go to guy”
Dailen Gunter
4653 Sequoia Circle
Oakwood, Georgia 30565
daileng@gmail.com
404-988-0960
T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 6
The NPTA website is terrific.
Don Glasgow
Very impressive! Keep up the great work.
Dan Del Fiorentino
Wow! Looks lik
e we’re in
the modern world. After
the newsletter and now
this website, I know we
have a great future.
Wilton Sykes
Musical Instrument Museum
Opens in Arizona
April 22, 2010, Phoenix, Arizona– Featured more than 3,000 instruments and artifacts from
around the world, and an opening program of exciting live performances, the Musical Instru-
ment Museum (MIM) opened to the public on April 22, 2010, in Phoenix, Arizona. The open-
ing weekend kicked off with a civic dedication ceremony on Saturday followed by the public
opening, and culminated on Sunday, with the inaugural concert in MIM‘s Music Theatre by
Grammy– winning folk and bluegrass performer Laurie Lewis.
Wilton Sykes & Dan del Fiorentino Visit
on Dedication Day
A $250– million project, MIM opened in a
190,000 square foot building with two floors of
spacious, light– filled galleries and a collection
of more than 10,000 instruments and associ-
ated objects. MIM creates an exciting musical
experience for visitors, immersing them in tra-
ditions from around the world. The museum‘s
galleries feature advanced wireless technology
and high– resolution video screens, enabling
guests to see instruments, hear their sounds,
and observe them being played in their natural
settings– performances that are often as spec-
tacular as the instruments. Select exhibits offer
an insider‘s view of how instruments work,
workshop displays in detail the instrument
building process, and the Experience Gallery
features musical instruments that guests can
touch and play. (Continued page 8)
T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 7
T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 8
Music is something all humans share, a
source of beauty and comfort, a means to give
a voice to joy in times of celebration, and a
powerful force that brings people together.
The museum‘s distinctive global collection
comprises instruments, artifacts, costumes,
audio and visual recordings. MIM‘s curatorial
staff has traveled extensively to collect ob-
jects that convey the diversity of global musi-
cal practices. Each instrument was selected
for fine construction, the reputation of its
maker, special provenance, or connection to
a famous performer. MIM‘s vast collection
will be highlighted in Geo– Galleries that fo-
cus on five global regions, as well as in a spe-
cial Artist Gallery that features noteworthy
instruments played by many of the world‘s
leading musicians.
―The goal of the Musical Instrument Museum is to illu-
minate what is unique about cultures, and also what is
shared and universal,‖ says Bob Ulrich, MIM founder and
Board Chairman. ― MIM will provide an experience like
none other, allowing musical novices and experts, tour-
ists, scholars, children and grandparents to hear, see and
feel the powerful and uniting force of music in an entirely
new way‖.
―MIM will make an important contribution to the interna-
tional museum community, to the study of ethnomusicol-
ogy, to the education and enjoyment of all our visitors‖,
said Bill DeWalt, MIM President and Director. ―The
unique global perspective of our collection, its breadth
and depth, allow us to make connections between coun-
tries and cultures that have never before been expressed
in a museum setting. At MIM, a diverse audience will be
able to experience music that is both surprising and per-
sonal
(Every NPTA member will want to visit. Learn more about
MIM using the link found on our website)
Many Thanks!
2010 Individual Sponsors 2010 Corporate Sponsors
Bob Dove, Steinway & Sons
Wilton Syckes, Syckes & Associates
Kevin Walter, Charles Walter Piano Co.
Thanks to our many 2009 corporate sponsors!
We need your help in 2010!
Please call Dawn or send her your
corporate sponsor‘s check for 2010.
$300 level $500 level $1000 level $1,500 level $2,000 and up
NPTA Board of Directors
And General Information
Dick Christian, President
Glenn Clutter, Vice President
Dawn DeMars, Secr./Treas.
and Newsletter Editor
Address:
442 Glenwood Pl Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
Phone:
(818) 416-4308
(805) 379-9888
Fax:
(818) 735-0188
Email: Dawn.demars@verizon.net
Web: www.pianotravelers.com
The “New” Piano Rag
Pass it On
Send this to another piano traveling friend
and send Dawn his/her name and email ad-
dress.
Let Us Know
What did you think? Email Dawn any sug-
gestions, comments, or other feedback. We
will incorporate
you’re thoughts and ideas.
Contribute
We want your “letters to the membership”,
road stories, and industry news, etc. you
would like reported.
Make this newsletter yours!
T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 9
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