Welcome to our Repair Shop

Position:
Director of Repair Services

E-mail: timroethler@paigesmusic.com

Start Date: May 3, 1977

Training or Education:
74th Army Band (Indianapolis), Attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Apprenticed repair with a ‘Factory Trained’ repairman

Where are you from originally:
Bellbrook, Ohio (a small town outside of Dayton, Ohio)

What instruments do you play:
Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute

What groups do/did you play with:
John Denver, Jackson 5, Pat Boone, Phyllis Diller, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphonic Band, Ice Capades, Barnum & Bailey Circus, many, many more......

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
That everyday brings a new challenge

What is your most memorable musical experience:
I was playing for the "Pat Boone Family" at the Indiana State Fair. At the time I was still traveling back and forth between Ohio and Indiana. The band was sitting on stage and Pat Boone was talking to the audience. His wife tapped me on the shoulder and asked "quick, what is the Governor's name?" I answered, "James Rhodes" who, unfortunately, was the Governor of Ohio. I knew immediately what I had done but she was off to the front of the stage before I could catch her. Of course the joke about the Governor went over like a lead balloon. When I was able to explain after the show, they were both laughing.

E-mail: brubin@paigesmusic.com

Position: Woodwind Repair Coordinator/Woodwind Technician

Start Date: November, 1994

Training or Education:
- Bachelor of Music Education- Indiana University
- Band Director for 7 years
- Apprenticed in repair 30 years experience as a repair technician.

Where are you from originally:
Bloomington, IN - Graduated from Bloomington High School North.

What instruments do you play:
Principal Instrument is Trumpet

What groups do/did you play with:
Played with the Indianapolis Brass Choir for 15 seasons.

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
The daily variety of problem solving opportunities.

What is the most unusual repair you’ve had to deal with:
I remember one saxophone on which a customer attempted to use super glue to reattach a post, and it looked like the tube burst open. It required much time and patience to do what was necessary to restore the finish as possible, and resolder the post. Needless to say, it would never look new again.

What is your most memorable musical experience:
There have been many great moments, from a trip to a musicfestival in Holland, to playing in the Rocky Mountains at the firehouse of Silverton Colorado.

E-mail: sguyer@paigesmusic .com

Position: Brass Repair Tech.

Start Date: June 1, 1998

Training or Education:
Went to Redwing Technical school and studied instrument repair

Where are you from originally:
Danville, IN

What instruments do you play:
I am a Vocal Tenor

What groups do/did you play with:
Union Station Track Side Troop

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
I like the hands on work of solving problems and making things look right again and play right again.

What is the most unusual repair you’ve had to deal with:
I installed a trumpet bell on an old recording Violin in order to replace it’s original bell.

What is your most memorable musical experience:
Seeing Simon and Garfunkel in concert together.

Position:
Stringed Instrument Repair Coordinator/Technician

E-mail: tmay@paigesmusic.com

Start Date: July 15, 1985

Training or Education:
Bachelor of Science in Music (Voice) and Stringed Instrument Technology: Indiana University 1985. Further repair training: Peter Horn, 1998; Bow making: University of New Hampshire Summer Institute, 2004.

Where are you from originally?
I was born in Columbus, Indiana. My family moved to Odessa, Texas when I was one year old. We lived there until my ninth grade year, at which time we moved to Corsicana, Texas for two years (freshman and sophomore years of high school). My junior year was spent back in Columbus, Indiana; and I finished off my senior year in North Vernon, Indiana. Indiana University happened after four years playing with real Tonka trucks in a crushed stone quarry in Jennings county, Indiana. IU was fun and interesting as a 21 year old freshman. Happily, the string technology degree program was there for me to begin a life’s work. At the present time, I am grudgingly growing up in Noblesville Indiana with my wife and watching my three kids surpass my understanding of the world in their various college endeavors.

What instruments do you play?
I play violin, viola, and cello: minimally. Stringed bass and guitar: preferably. I can play the piano the way I want to--not necessarily how classically trained pianists would choose to play, but it pleases me and suits my purpose. I still sing with gusto, and the ukelele is still just fun. Other instruments perhaps...I just haven’t had the opportunity to try yet.

What groups do/did you play with?
The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, Edyvean Theater pit orchestra, Carmel Symphony, Elizaville Baptist Church orchestra and handbell choir, Noblesville Methodist Church Community theater and pit orchestra, Tipton Community theater.

What do you enjoy most about being a technician?
Repairing the violin family instruments. It is still a challenging and fullfilling vocation.

What is the most unusual repair you’ve had to deal with?
Restoring two specific violins: one, which was sound fortified with rattlesnake rattles, and the second, on which the back, neck, and ribs were carved from a single solid piece of maple.

What is your most memorable musical experience?
The most memorable was a one month rehearsal and performance of Handel’s Messiah with the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and The Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Robert Porco from Indiana University. The second most memorable is the season spent with the Carmel Symphony.

E-mail: wtincher@paigesmusic.com

Position: Repair Department Office Manager

Start Date: December 2010

Training or Education:
Indiana State University- Bachelor of Science in Music Business

Where are you from originally:
Terre Haute, IN

What instruments do you play:
Tuba, Euphonium, Trombone

What groups do/did you play with:
Indianapolis Symphonic Band, America’s Hometown Band, Henry County Community Band

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
Getting to witness first-hand the repair work done by my coworkers. It is amazing to me how they can make a (seemingly destroyed) instrument play again.

What is your most memorable musical experience:
Days after the September 11th attacks, the city of Terre Haute called on the ISU Marching Sycamores to play a service. With a days’ notice, the whole band cleared their schedule to perform. It was the most emotional performance I have ever been a part of.

E-mail: troberts@paigesmusic.com

Position:Repair Department Office Assistant

Start Date: June 2017

Training or Education:
Saint Joseph’s College- Bachelor of Arts in Music Education

Where are you from originally:
Indianapolis, IN

What instruments do you play:
Clarinet, Saxophone, Ukulele

What groups do/did you play with:
Indianapolis Symphonic Band

What do you enjoy most about working in the repair shop:
I enjoy being able to help customers who want to give their student a rewarding experience through music. I also think that some of the repairs my coworkers do are amazing and it’s impressive how talented they are at their craft.

What is your most memorable musical experience:
When I was at St. Joe our choir was invited to tour in Rome, Italy and sing at many different churches. One of those included St. Peters Basilica where we sang for the Pope. My favorite band memory would be playing the Star Spangled Banner at ISSMA Marching Band State finals with a brass choir from St. Joe.

E-mail: hcarter@paigesmusic.com

Position:Brass Technician

Start Date: April, 2016

Training or Education:
Vincent Bach ’86-‘91
Pettifor’s Inc. ’87 – ’12
Paige’s Music ’16 – present (learn something new everyday)

Where are you from originally:
Constantine , MI

What instruments do you play:
Cornet years ago. Now just the dent hammer.

What groups do/did you play with:
Never played in any bands, but have helped numerous players over the past 30 years perform for many top name performers.

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
From my beginnings at Bach I enjoyed taking the "fresh-off-the-mounting-bench instruments" and polishing them up to a mirror finish. As time has progressed, I have learned to do just about every job from start to finish with brass instruments. From parts production and mounting to spraying lacquer and final finish and assembly. I still enjoy making them shine. However, the best thing to me is being able to now work with musicians one on one. Working together with them adjusting, making modifications and customizations that help enhance their playing capabilities and sound quality. That to me is the most enjoyable part of this job.

What is the most unusual repair you’ve had to deal with:
Not so much unusual as it was challenging. I have overhauled some amazing instruments over the years, each with a level of difficulty all their own. A pre-Elkhart Conn rotary valve trombone from Wooster Mass., a 3 digit Vincent Bach New York model trumpet that had the valve set made of nickel as opposed to brass…of which I never seen another. The one that sticks out the most was a Selmer MkVI alto sax belonging to a pro player in Cali. A roadie, while tearing down after a show, dropped an amplifier on it. In turn crushing the bell bad enough to not be able to pull the neck from the storage bag inside it, as well as bending and crushing the body into a mass of misconfiguration that looked like a player's nightmare come true. Bringing this and many other instruments back to life while maintaining the instruments integrity and sound quality has definitely made for some interesting times over the years.

What is your most memorable musical experience:
Being able to attend concerts of the some of the musicians I have been fortunate enough to work with over the years. The backstage hangs and after show activities have made for memorable times.

E-mail: jvanderha@paigesmusic.com

Position: Brass Technician

Training or Education:
Apprenticed at The Windsmith in San Diego. Attended San Diego State University and Butler University for Music Performance. Graduated from Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical Red Wing studied Band Instrument Repair.

Where are you from originally:
Carlsbad, CA

What instruments do you play:
French Horn

What groups do/did you play with:
Currently I play with the Indianapolis Brass Choir, Kokomo Park Band and Kokomo Symphony. I am a sub with the Carmel Symphony and the Indiana Wind Symphony. I also freelanced in San Diego and Minnesota.

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
I enjoy being able to solve problems and making an instrument play better than when it came in.

What is your most memorable musical experience:
I was fortunate enough to listen to the Gewandhaus Orchestra play Beethoven 9 on New Year’s Eve in Leipzig, Germany. I also was able to hear Phil Meyers perform Mahler 5 when The New York Philharmonic played in Chicago.

E-mail: srichards@paigesmusic.com

Position: Brass Instrument Prep

Training or Education:
I graduated from Marian University in 2014 with bachelors degree in music education.

Where are you from originally:
I come from rural Jay County Indiana, somewhere between the cities of Bryant and Portland.

What instruments do you play:
Tuba

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
I enjoy the challenges that every day seem to bring and learning how to deal with them.

What is the most unusual repair you’ve had to deal with:
Although I’ve not had to deal with anything too out of the ordinary yet, I’ve been warned by my coworkers that my day is coming...

E-mail: bparrott@paigesmusic.com

Position:String Technician

Start Date: June, 2017

Training or Education:
Graduated from Indiana University School of Music in 1999 with an A.S. in String Instrument Technology. Worked in Philadelphia at Paul Stevens Violins until 2000. Worked for Casa Del Sol Violins until I started working for myself as a full time violin maker in 2001.

Where are you from originally:
Franklin , IN

What instruments do you play:
Classical guitar, violin and a small amount of cello.

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
I enjoy helping an instrument play to its full potential which also helps the player reach their musical goals.

What is the most unusual repair you’ve had to deal with:
Most unusual would have to be the 18th century violin that had the top crushed from a falling bottle of water.

What is your most memorable musical experience:
Listening to, and talking with Janos Starker about his cello in the shop. He also mentioned his classical guitar to me several times that was given to him by Andres Segovia.

E-mail: skinnard@paigesmusic.com

Position:String Instrument Prep

Start Date: November, 2017

Training or Education:
Studied Music Education at Indiana University

Where are you from originally:
Kokomo, IN

What instruments do you play:
Guitar, Dobro, Bass, Saxophone

What groups do/did you play with:
I have played for many original singer songwriters as well as several rock, blues, and jazz cover bands in central Indiana. I currently play guitar and dobro for Chris Wilson and the Heresy.

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
I like working with my hands and seeing a completed project once everything is done!

What is your most memorable musical experience:
I was invited to play electric guitar with a local artist for a Christmas benefit concert, and we did some really creative takes on some Christmas songs. We had the privilege of going last as there were multiple bands that evening, and found a very responsive, if not slightly intoxicated crowd for our closing set. So much so, that once we finished they not only went nuts, but demanded an encore! And this is where it got interesting. 

We had only prepared the songs we had already done as several of us were not part of the artist’s regular band. So we didn't really have any more songs to play. At that point, the band leader turns to us and says, "Let's do 'Cortez the Killer' by Neil Young, do you know it?" To which we answered no, although I informed him that I had ironically just recently heard a version by another artist, but had never heard the original nor played the song. He then tells us that the feel is just like the version of one of the Christmas songs we had done earlier, as we had played it in a Neil Young and Crazy Horse style via his direction. He tells me the chord progression...and the next thing I know we are KICKING IT OFF! Again, it's a full house, live in the moment, the drummer has never even heard the song and neither of us have ever played it, and we are now going for it!

And it ended up being one of the most exhilarating live music experiences I've had. It was definitely one of those "high-wire without a net" moments...feeling our way together through the song, following the singer’s lead, listening to each other, feeding of each other as the song took shape, improvising as a group. It was AMAZING! And we did it very much like the version I had recently heard which gave me HUGE chunks of solo time...feeding off the energy of the band and the room, the excitement of never playing the song and literally charting new territory in the moment. And we NAILED it and the room exploded at the end! I get chills even now thinking back on that moment.

E-mail: jsturm@paigesmusic.com

Position: String Instrument Prep

Training or Education:
Attended Millikin University in Decatur, Ill & studied Commercial Music. Graduated from Lawrence North HS.in Indianapolis, IN.

Where are you from originally:
Lawrence, IN

What instruments do you play:
Trumpet, piano/keyboard, electric & acoustic guitar, drum set

What groups do/did you play with:
The Sturm Family Band (bluegrass), The Middle Men (ska band), church praise band, various jazz bands, jazz combo groups, concert bands, Indianapolis trumpet choir, brass ensembles, accompany my son on guitar for his bluegrass fiddle music competitions.

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
The camaraderie of the repair shop - we really enjoy our work and each other!

What is your most memorable musical experience:
Playing trumpet for my sister's wedding. That was such an honor and it meant a lot to me to be a part of their day.

E-mail: fwithrow@paigesmusic .com

Position: String Instrument Prep

Start Date: October 2010

Training or Education:
Studied string bass as a music performance major at Indiana State University and University of Indianapolis. Apprenticed in string repair with Eugene Crouse in South Bend, IN and Tom May at Paige's Music.

Where are you from originally:
I was born in Elkhart, IN and grew up in South Bend, IN. I moved to Indianapolis in 1978.

What instruments do you play:
I play string bass and electric bass.

What groups do/did you play with:
I have been a professional musician for my entire adult life, primarily freelancing. I have been fortunate enough to play with most of the top musicians in the area.

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
I enjoy the entire process of making an instrument as attractive and playable as possible.

What is the most unusual repair you’ve had to deal with:
I mostly address the simpler repairs on the instruments that cross my bench, deferring to Tom or Derek on the tougher cases. But it never ceases to amaze me what I might find inside a violin or cello...mostly items that don't belong there...gum wrappers, etc.

What is your most memorable musical experience:
I had the good fortune to tour Japan for two weeks in 1999 with a really good big band out of Chicago.

E-mail: bbruemmer@paigesmusic.com

Position:Woodwind Technician

Start Date: September, 2016

Training or Education:
BA in French Horn performance – Bob Jones University

Completion of the Red Wind Technical College Band Instrument Repair program

Where are you from originally:
Nelson, MN

What instruments do you play:
French Horn

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to repair the instruments that come in because they often come in broken in very unique ways. I also enjoy always trying to improve how I repair instruments and the quality of my repair.

What is your most memorable musical experience:
When I was in college, I was playing in the orchestra, and the director used to be a principal violinist in Germany. We were going to be performing Beethoven’s 5th symphony. The director held us all to a very high level of performance and also inspired us to want to play the best that we could. We all practiced the music as well as we could and the best performance we had was the dress rehearsal. We were all very focused on the director and together in our timing. The music and the experience of being in that orchestra was amazing, and the actual performance in front of an audience was also very well done and enjoyed very much by all.

E-mail: sgrimes@paigesmusic.com

Position: woodwind repair technician

Start Date: June 30, 1993

Training or Education:
a few years of college, Band Instrument Repair course at Red Wing Tech- graduated class of ‘93

Where are you from originally:
Minneapolis Minnesota area

What instruments do you play:
Euphonium, trombone, voice

What groups do/did you play with:
Army Band experience: 74th Army Band, Ft. Benjamin Harrison; 2nd Infantry Division Band, Camp Casey, Korea; 34th Infantry Division Band- Minnesota Army National Guard, 38th I.D. National Guard Band, Indiana. Current member of Circle City Sound Barbershop Chorus, Indianapolis IN chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society.

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
I like the variety I have repairing all the different woodwind instruments. Sometimes I’ll open a case, look at a horn, and think “How did they do that?” Performing normal maintenance is an important part of my job, but when there is damage done to the horn, I enjoy the challenge of making the horn play again.

What is the most unusual repair you’ve had to deal with:
An old alto sax came into the shop with a crushed neck, and a new replacement neck was not available. One of our parts suppliers had an old neck blank (formed neck body) in stock. I was able to fabricate a replacement neck with the neck blank and the parts off the old neck. The customer was delighted to have the horn playing again. That repair was interesting, and challenging!

E-mail: shobson@paigesmusic.com

Position: Woodwind Repair Technician

Start Date: August 28, 1995

Training or Education:
BM Music Education, Jazz Studies minor--Ball Sate University, MM Saxophone performance, Jazz Dept., Graduate Assistant--University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music

Where are you from originally:
Brownsburg, Indiana

What instruments do you play:
tenor sax, alto sax, soprano sax, bari sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute

What groups do/did you play with:
Indianapolis Jazz Orchestra (see indyjazz.org), Jimmy Dorsey and Guy Lombardo pickup gigs, various free-lance jobs with several bands over the years.

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
I love to fix things that are broken and to improve on them. I am very interested as to how things work (not just musical instruments).

What is the most unusual repair you’ve had to deal with:
I hate working on instruments that have cat urine on them. (Thankfully they are relatively rare.) I have also restored instruments that have been through fires.

What is your most memorable musical experience:
The times spent with my first saxophone teacher. He taught me much more than just music and always treated me as a member of his own family.

E-mail: pmeyer@paigesmusic.com

Position:Woodwind Technician

Start Date: May 21, 2018

Training or Education:
Received Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Indiana University, Studied band instrument repair at Minnesota State College Southeast (Red Wing)

Where are you from originally:
Indianapolis, IN

What instruments do you play:
Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute

What groups do/did you play with:
Indiana Wind Symphony, Philharmonic Orchestra of Indianapolis, Indianapolis Symphonic Band, Voyager of the Seas Orchestra

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
Seeing unique and interesting instruments frequently

What is your most memorable musical experience:
I was directing the jazz orchestra aboard the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas. An hour before the start of our evening musical theatre performance, the main theater sound board crashed, making the full scale production impossible. Knowing that we had to put on some kind of show, the orchestra quickly grabbed some big band charts we had aboard the ship and performed a fully acoustic concert to more than 1500 people.

E-mail: kmoniaci@paigesmusic.com

Position: Woodwind Technician

Start Date: June 2012

Training or Education:
Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance, University of Michigan
Master of Music in Bassoon Performance, University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music
Attended Red Wing Repair School
Ongoing bassoon repair apprenticeship with Paul Nordby

Where are you from originally:
Clarkston, Michigan

What instruments do you play:
Bassoon

What groups do/did you play with:
Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra, Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, Quintasaurus Rex, many freelance gigs

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
I get to solve puzzles all day long!

What is your most memorable musical experience:
Playing principal in Shostakovich Symphony #9, which has the longest bassoon solo in the orchestral repertoire.

E-mail: sruppert@paigesmusic.com

Position: Woodwind Repair Technician

Start Date: July 3, 2003

Training or Education:
- Former co-owner Weast Music....With Weast for 25 yrs....In music business for 50yrs
- Trained at Allied Band Instrument Repair School in late 60’s

Where are you from originally:
Lafayette, IN

What instruments do you play:
Percussion....Retired

What groups do/did you play with:
Ran sound for The Lafayette Citizens Band also past VP of operations for same group

What do you enjoy most about being a technician:
Taking something that is badly damaged and making it a playable instrument again....Also have worked at ISSMA state solo an ensemble contest for the past 30yrs (repairing) and to see the happy faces on the students you help throughout the day,is very rewarding.

What is the most unusual repair you’ve had to deal with:
There are so many it’s hard to pick one most memorable

What is your most memorable musical experience:
Hunkering down outside the Metropole Bar in NY City (underaged) to see Gene Krupa play.