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| About |
Zigmant J. Kanstul – President
Zigmant J. Kanstul was born May 1929 in Minneapolis, MN. He spent his early years in the St. Paul Area. He graduated from Red Wing High School, Red Wing, MN in 1947. Following graduation he joined the U.S. Air Force as a bandsman and rose to the rank of Sergeant. He was discharged in 1950 after serving for three years. He moved to Salina, Kansas where he married Jacqueline Sprecker and raised three children. He attended Bethany College, Lindsbourg, Kansas (major in Music.)
In 1953 Mr. Kanstul moved to Anaheim, CA where F.E. Olds employed him as a mounter. For the next eight years he was apprenticed to F.A. Reynolds from whom he learned the fine art of brass instrument manufacturing. He spent 18 years at Olds where he became factory superintendent in charge of all R & D - Engineering and Design.
In 1970 Mr. Kanstul left Olds to become Vice President of King Musical Instruments in charge of the Benge plant. In 1979 he became Vice President of Manufacturing of C.G. Conn and spent the next two years traveling to manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and Mexico.
In 1981 Mr. Kanstul launched Kanstul Musical Instruments. The factory is located in Anaheim, California, one mile east of Disneyland. Kanstul Musical Instruments employs sixty craftsmen and manufactures a complete line of brass musical instruments.
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James (Jim) R. New - Plant Manager, mouthpieces@kanstul.com
James R. New was born November 1954 in Wichita, Kansas. He moved two years later to Denver, Colorado where he spent his youth. His family moved to Orange County, California in 1967. He graduated from Sunny Hills High School in 1972. Following graduation he attended Fullerton College with a major in Music Performance. He also studied with Claude Gordon for a period of three years. Jim married Pamela Kirchen in 1982 and has ten children: seven daughters and three sons.
Jim's carreer in brass instrument manufacturing began with Dominick Calicchio. He has also worked for F.E. Olds Co., Benge Trumpet Co., and C.G. Conn Co. Jim has been the Plant Manager for Kanstul since it's inception in 1981.
Jim is active in the day-to-day activites of the factory in addition to developing Kanstul's mouthpiece technology and the Kanstul Online Mouthpiece Comparator.
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Mark Kanstul – Supervisor
When Mark Foster Kanstul was born, December 21, 1955, he already had a double tie to musical manufacturing. The first tie, of course, was being born into the Zig Kanstul family. The second tie was the name Foster, in honor of his father's mentor, Foster Reynolds, plant foreman with F. E. Olds & Son.
Mark grew up in Anaheim, living just one mile from Disneyland. He attended Paul Revere Elementary School and Fremont Junior High, graduating from Anaheim High School in 1974.
At the same time, outside of school, he was receiving an additional education. He started his musical manufacturing career at the age of seven, assembling music lyre holders for F. E. Olds & Son in his father's garage for a penny apiece. At age sixteen, while still attending high school, Mark became the night janitor for Benge Trumpet Company. His father, general manager at the time, told Mark that this was the best way to learn the business -- from the ground up. And Mark has done exactly that.
After high school graduation, his real apprenticeship started. Under Zig's watchful eye, Mark first learned to silver plate horns. Next came final assembly work. Later came precision machining. All the time, Mark was learning all he could, gaining knowledge, acquiring and developing the skills and abilities demanded in musical instrument manufacturing.
In 1981 when his father launched Kanstul Musical Instruments Mark was excited about working for a company with the family name and immediately became a charter member of our work force. Since then, his father, always ready to pass on his experience and advice, has continued to mentor Mark.
Ironically, Mark has not been a very good musician himself, yet this challenging work has always stayed in his blood. He has learned both the science and the art of building horns, and he has learned from the best - from Zig, and through him, from Foster Reynolds and Elden Benge. We can't predict, but it would be no surprise if this remarkable chain passing along skills and knowledge continues into the future. In the year 2000, Mark's son Alex was born, and Alex has had music and musical instruments around him his whole life.
Although Mark's tasks, his responsibilities, and his titles have continued to change, his passion has always remained - the world of brass-wind instrument manufacturing, and the unique place that Kanstul Musical Instruments holds in that world.
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Charles G. Hargett - Sales & Marketing, charles@kanstul.com
Charles was born in 1965 and was raised in Southern California. He began his music career at age ten when a family friend encouraged him to take up the trumpet. Charles played in numerous ensembles throughout his school years, and his teachers included Cliff Mount and Dave Evans. Both of his parents were educators, and eventually Charles decided to major in Music Education. He attended college in Riverside, attaining a degree in music. In the early 1990's Charles became involved in the wholesale nursery industry. In 1994 he moved to Whittier where he met Naomi Ashley and her three children, Alyssa, Jason and Aja. Charles and Naomi eventually wed and have been together for over ten years.
Charles had taken a several-year hiatus from music, during which he devoted himself to family and enjoying a successful career in sales. One day he toured the Kanstul factory with a friend who was visiting from out of town. Charles says that he was immediately inspired to resume a career in music. He describes his position at Kanstul Musical Instruments as an exciting challenge, and that it includes planning and attending trade shows, band instrument sales, marketing & advertising, and artist relations.
A veteran trumpet player, Charles has performed with such diverse artists as Maynard Ferguson, Tony Bennett, Louis Bellson, Tierra, The Pointer Sisters, Yakov Smirnoff, Edgar Winter Group, Disney's All-American College Band, Marianna G, Don Abusivo, and the Sea World Beach Band. He also has numerous television and radio appearances to his credit, including television commercials for Wendy's and Sea World of San Diego. Charles also has extensive pageantry experience including the Tournament of Roses Herald Trumpets, Riverside Community College Marching Tigers and four years in the Velvet Knights Drum & Bugle Corps. He performs regularly with The Wiseguys Big Band Machine. Charles has served on the Board of Directors for the California Youth Academy for the Performing Arts; and is a recent recipient of an L.A. County Volunteer of the Year award.
Charles Hargett would like to acknowledge and thank his family for their love and support of music and the arts.
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| Troy Emmons - Production Control |
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| Carrie Roybal - Office Manager |
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| Laura Bernardino - Shipping and Export Manager, lb@kanstul.com |
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