Gakki Co. Ltd., holder of the Ibanez guitar and Tama drum brand names, has announced the appointment of Kimihide “Ken” Hoshino as the company’s new president. He succeeds Toshitsugu “Tom” Tanaka who, beginning in 2004, led the company into an era of sharply increased sales and prosperity. Tanaka will continue his work with the company in the capacity of advisor. Kimihide “Ken” Hoshino, son of late company co-owner, Masao Hoshino, began his career with the Hoshino organization in 1974. From 1981 through 1985 he served as president of Hoshino USA Inc. and was widely acknowledged as the driving force behind Tama’s rise to prominence in the U.S. market during that period. He then returned to Japan to head Hoshino’s domestic Japanese market distribution, and was also accepted as one of the company’s Board of Directors. In the early ‘90s, Ken turned his focus to the improvement and expansion of the company’s pan-Asian manufacturing efforts, and by the mid-90s was responsible for leading the company’s Electronics division. In 2000, he was appointed president of the Hoshino Gakki Manufacturing Co. Ltd. in Seto City, Japan. This period of his career is marked by his role in the development of Tama’s much acclaimed Marching Percussion line. Most recently, he has also been piloting the company’s worldwide AR efforts. Ken Hoshino remarks, “It will not be easy to live up to the exceptionally high standards of achievement and success set by my predecessors. But by applying what I have learned through all my past experience within the Hoshino Gakki Group, I believe our company stands poised to make Hoshino an even more valuable partner than ever.” Yamaha has announced the appointment of Frank Gutwein as district manager for the company’s Pro Audio & Combo Division. His territory includes Northern California, Northern Nevada, Utah and Colorado. He reports to Frank Yardley, western regional sales manager. Prior to working at Yamaha, Gutwein held the position of district sales manager at Peavey Electronics, where he covered much of the same region he will oversee at Yamaha. At Peavey, Gutwein managed and developed the entire musical instrument, multi-chain store, audio-visual and rental company accounts. His work earned him “Rep of the Year” in 2014. Other experience includes territory sales representative for PCM Marketing, where he maintained and developed accounts with large format independent musical instrument, multi-chain store, audio-visual, and rental house clients. There, he received top sales awards from Shure, Monster Cable, Auralex, Gator, and Hosa. He also served as store manager at several Guitar Center outlets. Yamaha has also announced the appointment of Chris Marr as national account manager for the company’s Pro Audio & Combo Division. His main priorities will be managing sales relations with Guitar Center and Musician’s Friend. Prior to working for Yamaha, Marr gained experience as the key account and territory sales manager with Peavey Electronics Corp. During his time there, he exceeded expectations and earned multiple accolades for his achievements, including several divisional top sales and Salesman of the Year. By acquiring and managing some of the largest national instrument retail accounts, including Guitar Center, Marr increased the company’s territory sales. Additionally, Marr worked for U.S. Music Corp. as a district sales manager, representing several guitar and amplification manufacturers. There, he developed many new accounts, increased territory sales and was named Salesman of the Year two years in a row. Conn-Selmer has announced that one of the nation’s leaders in music education and highly regarded music industry professional, Tom Bracy, has joined the company as the newly created director of educational programs within the Division of Education. “It is with much enthusiasm we welcome Tom Bracy to the Conn-Selmer Division of Education,” says Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser, vice president of Education. “He brings a wealth of knowledge to the ongoing expansion of our growing outreach programs and a rich history of organizational and administrative success.” Tom Bracy brings nearly 30 years of music education experience to the Division of Education. He began his career as a band director for the Archdiocese of Chicago while attending Northeastern Illinois University. While continuing as a band director for nearly 30 years, he also served in other positions such as executive director for the Association for Catholic Music Education and then became area manager for the Chicago Park District, one of the largest geographical and most diverse communities within the Chicago area. For the past ten years, Bracy has held various positions at Chicago’s Merit School of Music, including music teacher, director of operations, acting director of development, COO, and most recently executive director. As director of Educational Programs, Bracy will collaborate with Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser, Michael Kamphuis, managing director Educational Services, and key Division staff to develop, administer and communicate the vision and strategies that support the educational programs within the Division of Education, including the VIP and Conn-Selmer Institute Programs.