Small Town, Big Dream

In 1979, Larry’s Music Note opened the doors of its modest shop on Beall Avenue in Wooster, OH.  At the time, owner Larry Lang was the sole employee.  Each morning, before opening the store, he drove to each school in the county to call on the area’s band directors and pick up instruments that needed repairing.  During the day, Larry fixed the instruments in the shop’s tiny repair area and helped customers when they came in.  At night he closed the doors and stayed till the repairs were finished.  The following morning, he delivered the instruments back to each school and did it all over again.

Fast repair times and dedication to service helped the new store build strong relationships with local band directors, which Larry credits with the stores survival those first few years.

            “School band programs are what this store was built on, “ says owner Larry; “and they’re still one of our specialties, though we’ve branched out a lot since then.”

            Branching out included hiring then 19 year-old Brad Shreve, in 1983, and Scott Chapman a year later--both of which are still at the store today.  Scott became the store’s NAPBIRT--certified instrument repair technician, and Brad started as a salesman and guitar technician, eventually becoming the store’s General Manager.

            Larry credits Shreve with much of the store’s success.  Over the years, Brad has built up a loyal clientele of churches, music ministers, and local musicians who rely on him extensively for everything from church sound systems to guitar repair.  This store’s success led to the purchase of the building and its subsequent remodeling, which allowed Lang to expand for the first time.

            Soon after Larry hired David Lueschen to manage the band department, while Larry stepped back to focus on day-to-day operations and long term planning for the store.  David and Scott continue to visit all the local area schools and build up our relationships with our band directors and their students.

            More recently, Gabriel O’Brien, one of the local musicians Shreve has mentored, was hired as a salesman and now also takes care of store graphics and advertising, as well as producing the store’s commercials and web videos, and maintaining our web site.

            Eventually, the store outgrew its home and, in 2005, Larry’s Music Center moved to its current location at 302 E. Liberty St. in downtown Wooster, where we recently celebrated our 3oth Anniversary with a free concert.

In 2011, original owner Larry Lang retired and sold Larry's Music Center to Brad Shreve.

And that’s how our store was built, one customer at a time, with hard work and friendly personal customer service.  Those are still the driving principals behind the store today, whether you shop at our beautiful downtown Wooster location, or purchase an item from our website.