James Warren York | |
---|---|
Born | November 24, 1839 |
Died | February 9, 1927 87) | (aged
Occupation | Musical instrument builder |
Children | Charles E. York Frank W. York |
James Warren York (more commonly known as J. W. York) was a musician, businessman, business owner and musical instrument innovator. York was born November 24, 1839 in Exeter, New Hampshire, and died February 9, 1927 in Los Angeles, California.
York, a cornet player in Grand Rapids, Michigan theaters, started an instrument repair company in the latter part of the 19th century. Two partnerships, "Smith and York" in 1883 and "York and Holton" in 1885, were reformed into the "J.W.York and Company" instrument manufacturing company in 1884. In 1887, to celebrate the birth of his son Charles E. York, the business was renamed "York & Son". In 1898, the birth of his other son, Frank W. York, prompted him to rename the business "York & Sons". The business went through other name changes ("J.W. York", "J.W. York and Sons", "J.W. York Band Instrument Co", "J.W. York Instrument Co.") before finally settling on "York Band Instrument Company".
In 1917, York retired from the musical instrument manufacturing business and moved to California. It was here that, in 1927, he died.
The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian, is an Armenian-American musical instrument manufacturer and the largest cymbal and drumstick maker in the world. The company was founded in Kostantiniyye by Avedis Zildjian in 1623, and is now based in Norwell, Massachusetts. Zildjian is one of the oldest manufacturers of musical instruments in the world. Zildjian sells cymbals, drumsticks, percussion mallets and other drum accessories under the Zildjian, Vic Firth and Balter Mallet brands.
Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a musical instrument manufacturing company headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. It is best known for its grand pianos, upright pianos, electronic keyboards and electronic synthesizers. The company was established in August 1927.
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is an American manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers. Fender produces acoustic guitars, bass amplifiers and public address equipment, but is best known for its solid-body electric guitars and bass guitars, particularly the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Precision Bass, and the Jazz Bass. The company was founded in Fullerton, California, by Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender in 1946. Its headquarters are in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments from Germany for resale in the United States. Wurlitzer enjoyed initial success, largely due to defense contracts to provide musical instruments to the U.S. military. In 1880, the company began manufacturing pianos and eventually relocated to North Tonawanda, New York. It quickly expanded to make band organs, orchestrions, player pianos and pipe or theatre organs popular in theatres during the days of silent movies.
C.G. Conn Ltd., sometimes called Conn Instruments or commonly just Conn, is a former American manufacturer of musical instruments incorporated in 1915. It bought the production facilities owned by Charles Gerard Conn, a major figure in early manufacture of brasswinds and saxophones in the USA. Its early business was based primarily on brass instruments, which were manufactured in Elkhart, Indiana. During the 1950s the bulk of its sales revenue shifted to electric organs. In 1969 the company was sold in bankruptcy to the Crowell-Collier-MacMillan publishing company. Conn was divested of its Elkhart production facilities in 1970, leaving remaining production in satellite facilities and contractor sources.
Gretsch is an American company that manufactures musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos, tambourines, and drums until his death in 1895. In 1916, his son, Fred Gretsch Sr. moved operations to a larger facility where Gretsch went on to become a prominent manufacturer of American musical instruments.
D'Addario is a manufacturer of musical instrument strings and accessories, primarily for guitars but also many other fretted and orchestral instruments. The company currently has its world headquarters in Farmingdale, Long Island, New York, and its European headquarters in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. It is a family-owned and operated business that is one of the largest string manufacturers in the world, not only producing several lines of strings under their own brand names, but also making OEM strings for other musical instrument companies.
The Martin Band Instrument Company was a musical instrument manufacturer in Elkhart, Indiana. The firm produced band instruments, including trumpets, cornets, fluegelhorns, trombones, and saxophones from 1908 through the 1960s. The brand was acquired by the Leblanc Corporation in 1971 and discontinued in 2007 after Leblanc's 2004 acquisition by Conn-Selmer.
Wm. Knabe & Co. was a piano manufacturing company in Baltimore, Maryland from the middle of the nineteenth century through the beginning of the 20th century, and continued as a division of Aeolian-American at East Rochester, New York until 1982. It is currently a line of pianos manufactured by Samick Musical Instruments.
Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments.
The Regal Musical Instrument Company is a former US musical instruments company and current brand owned by different companies through the ages. By the 1930s, Regal was one of the largest manufacturers in the world.
F. E. Olds was a manufacturer of musical instruments founded by Frank Ellsworth (F.E.) Olds in Los Angeles, California in the early 1900s. The company made brass instruments, especially trombones, cornets, and trumpets.
Carl Fischer Music is a major sheet music publisher, based in New York City's East Village since 1872. The company has since moved to the Wall Street area in 2013. After 140 years, the company remains a family-owned business, publishing both performance and educational music for students, teachers, and virtuosos. Carl Fischer's composers and editors give clinics and sessions all over the country, and the company claims to serve more than 1400 retailers around the world.
King Musical Instruments is a former musical instrument manufacturing company located in Cleveland, Ohio, that commercialised its products with the trade name King. In 1965 the company was acquired by the Seeburg Corporation of Eastlake, Ohio, and the name changed to "King Musical Instruments".
Ernst Albert Couturier was best known as a cornet player who toured as a "virtuoso" performer on the concert programs of bands of the day. He promoted the Holton Band Instrument Company for a decade in that capacity before applying his own unique inventions to the production of his own line of brass band instruments between 1918 and 1923.
Foster Allen Reynolds was an American brass instrument designer and manufacturer.
The York Band Instrument Company was a musical instrument manufacturer in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Weymann Guitars is an American manufacturing company of musical instruments. Established in 1864 in Philadelphia, Weymann is one of the oldest instrument companies in the country. Originally founded as "H. A. Weymann and Son" by German immigrant Henry Arnold Weymann, Weymann patented the mandolute and also developed the first "Jumbo" body acoustic guitar produced during the turn of the century, nearly two decades before competitors in the instrument industry.
St. Louis Music (SLM) is a manufacturer and distributor of musical instruments, accessories, and equipment. SLM distributes products from over 260 music products industry brands, is the corporate owner of several string- and brass-instruments brands, and is the producer and exclusive worldwide distributor of Alvarez and Alvarez-Yairi guitars.