TRUMPETS

We started selling trumpets in 1968. I soon became the youngest Benge Agent in the world and we added Schilke to the line. It was very heady for a young man to frequently talk to and work with the retired First Trumpet of the Chicago Symphony, Renold Schilke!!!

The next great trumpet we carried was Calicchio. Domenick Calicchio was such a wonderful old guy. His stories amongst old players have become legends.  I will add some of those under the tab "Stories" later.

The next good horn was the Claude Gordon model of the Benge. The Claude Gordon Benge was the best horn made by Benge. I remember that one year Carl Leach and I sold 42 or 44 of them - in ONE year, out of my old San Jose store on Delmas.

As time went we also introduced to the area Centurion, a pro horn disguised in a student price, the Besson-Kanstul, Kanstul, Boosey & Hawkes, Martin (modern version from Leblanc) and finally the ultimate horn ever made, the Claude Gordon Selmer (The story of it's birth will be under "Stories" soon.) Selmer made less than 2,000 of these over a 20 year period and we sold over 5% of the run.

Today virtually all of that is over. The companies have been sold or gone out of business. The models have been changed or discontinued.

WHAT TO DO?

A student of mine, an award winning band director came to me and begged me to make good horns again. "You have shown me that your teaching system is the best there is, but you have also shown me that they have to have good instruments. My kids can't get any good instruments in San Jose. Can you make them?"

SO NOW WE MAKE THEM!

Since I sold hundreds of Benge, Schilke, Calicchio and Claude Gordon Selmers, my stqandards were high. It couldn't be just any horn. It had to sit with these other horns and hold its' own.

See our description under instruments. We think you will find them as good as just about any horn ever made.