Beyond the Stage

I’m Drew Holmes. When I started learning to make music, I thought that the only way to have a career in the industry was as a performer. I could not have been more wrong! In more than twenty-five years in the music business I have done many non-performing jobs, from orchestra librarian to music store owner and everything in between. But my experience is just the tip of the iceberg. I am on a mission to explore the exciting and necessary jobs that make performances possible. Come with me as we go Beyond the Stage.

Last refreshed: July 5th, 2025 at 12:28 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

Episode 11 - A Life in Music with Harold Stone (Part 2)

Harold stone is a legend in the music business. At the 2022 CMEA Conference, Drew had the pleasure of talking with Harold. Though the conversation went well over an hour, it only scratched the surface of a life lived in music and devoted to promoting music education and participation. In part two of our interview, Harold remembers a no-so-fond memory of when his daughter was discouraged from pursuing the flute. This led to a great discussion on the role of music educators in early instruction an...

Feb 24, 2022•35 min•Ep. 11

Episode 10 - A Life Lived in Music with Harold Stone (Part 1)

Harold stone is a legend in the music business. At the 2022 CMEA Conference, Drew had the pleasure of talking with Harold. Though the conversation went well over an hour, it only scratched the surface of a life lived in music and devoted to promoting music education and participation. In part one of our interview, Harold recounts his humble beginnings as one of five children. His father was a muleskinner in France during World War I and would often need to trade with the locals to get food (Haro...

Feb 17, 2022•36 min

Episode 9 - Lesson Studio Owner with Danielle Gillespie (Part 2)

Drew had the opportunity to speak with Danielle Gillespie at the 2022 Colorado Music Educator’s Association conference in Colorado Springs. Danielle is owner of Music @ Mainstreet, a private music studio in Parker, CO, and has an extensive background in vocal music. An Alum of the Colorado Springs Children's Chorale and heavily involved in musical theatre all through school, she went on to study classical voice performance at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music and graduated in 201...

Feb 10, 2022•20 min•Ep. 9

Episode 8 - Lesson Studio Owner with Danielle Gillespie (Part 1)

Feb 03, 2022•25 min•Ep. 8

Episode 7 - Music Technology Educator with Heath Jones (Part 2)

At the 2021 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Drew has the pleasure to speak with Heath Jones, professional educator for 28 years. After 15 years teaching high school band he transitioned to middle school and saw a shortfall in music technology education at the middle school level. He now teaches music technology and authored the book MUSIC TECHNOLOGY 101 The Basics of Music Production in the Technology Lab or Home Studio . Heath also serves as the Music Technology Chair for the Georgia Music Educators...

Jan 12, 2022•34 min•Ep. 7

Episode 6 - Music Technology Educator with Heath Jones (Part 1)

Jan 05, 2022•33 min•Ep. 6

Episode 5 – Music Education with Sean Marquis

At the Colorado Bandmaster’s Conference on July 16, 2021 Drew had the pleasure to sit down with Professional Music Educator Sean Marquis. Sean teaches band at Frontier Academy in Greeley, Colorado. This conversation occurred in the cafeteria of Lakewood High School during the lunch break while we were demonstrating the livestreaming rig at our booth. We explored many topics relating to the challenges not only music educators but educators in general are facing with the state of the world as we p...

Jul 28, 2021•17 min•Ep. 5

Episode 4 - Manufacturer Representative with Wes Kreitz (Part 2)

In the interest of brevity the title of this episode calls Wes Kreitz a "Manufacturer Representative" but he does so much more. Wes is the District Manager for the Western US for Yamaha, but more than that he is a School Services Representative. If you are a school of any kind in the western US and want Yamaha instruments, Wes is your guy. In this episode we talk about the great Harold Stone, the lessons he has taught us, and how the history of any profession is crucial to learn. Wes discusses t...

Jul 14, 2021•43 min•Ep. 4

Episode 3 - Manufacturer Representative with Wes Kreitz (Part 1)

In the interest of brevity the title of this episode calls Wes Kreitz a "Manufacturer Representative" but he does so much more. Wes is the District Manager for the Western US for Yamaha, but more than that he is a School Services Representative. If you are a school of any kind in the western US and want Yamaha instruments, Wes is your guy. In this episode we talk about how Wes started making music growing up in rural Pennsylvania. He discusses why he loves working for Yamaha and how that gives h...

Jul 07, 2021•39 min•Ep. 4

Episode 2 - Music Retail with Cindy "Boomer" Haraway (Part 2)

What better place to start with the first episodes of our podcast than with the woman who started it all? Cindy "Boomer" Haraway is the founder of the retail store Boomer Music Company in Fort Collins, Colorado (now owned by Beyond the Stage host Drew Holmes). In part two of our conversation, we delve deeper into the mind set it took to make such a bold career choice, what musical activities Cindy is currently engaged in, and who has and continues to inspire her. Connect with Cindy Hosted by: Dr...

Jun 02, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Episode 1 - Music Retail with Cindy "Boomer" Haraway (Part 1)

What better place to start with the first episode of our podcast than with the woman who started it all? Cindy "Boomer" Haraway is the founder of the retail store Boomer Music Company in Fort Collins, Colorado (now owned by Beyond the Stage host Drew Holmes). In part one of our conversation, Cindy talks about how she first learned to love music making and what inspired her to pursue music retail as a career. Connect with Cindy Hosted by: Drew Holmes (Drew@BoomerMusicCompany.com) Our Sponsors Boo...

Jun 01, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 1

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