Four decades.
Three families.
One love of music.
A neighborhood music shop, still run by people who know your name, and who'll be there on the day your kid plays their first scale.
A shop that's been passed from hand to hand, never traded for a chain.
Mike opens the doors.
Music Forte begins as a local music shop, founded on a simple idea: a place where neighbors can find an instrument, take a lesson, and feel at home. From day one, the store was built on relationships, not transactions.
Chris takes the helm.
After six years, Mike passes Music Forte to Chris, beginning what would become an extraordinary thirty-five-year stewardship. Under Chris, the shop grew into a true community fixture: a generation of students, families, recitals, first guitars, and Sunday morning practices all running through one front door.
Dan and Ed carry it forward.
Recently, Dan Fradin and Ed Krause took over from Chris. The faces are new, but the way Music Forte does things isn't: locally owned, family run, and rooted in the same values it started with over forty years ago.
Ed comes on as co-owner.
Ed Krause joined Dan as co-owner, and he's the one you'll usually find behind the counter helping people pick out an instrument or work through a repair.
Dawson keeps it moving.
Dan's son Dawson runs the day-to-day as manager, a third generation already part of the routine, as we continue to grow and look for ways to improve things across the board.
Three owners. 41 years. The same shop.
Three things have never changed.
Music
Above all, we love this art form. Whether you're picking up your first instrument or your fortieth, we're here for the joy of it. The sound a beginner makes is just as worth showing up for as a finished performance.
Community
We're not a chain. We're your neighbors. We know your kids' names, we celebrate your recitals, and we show up for the moments that matter, because this town raised us too.
Technology
We're embracing modern tools to make every part of the experience better: easier booking, smoother lesson scheduling, faster repair tracking, and smarter ways to help families find the right instrument. Same front door, same values, better tools to serve them with.
"Music is more than notes on a page. It's how a community talks, gathers, and stays connected. For over 40 years, we've been lucky to be the local spot where that happens."