Neil A. Kjos Music Company
Neil A. Kjos Music Company
Neil A. Kjos Music Company
History
The Neil A. Kjos Music Company was founded by its namesake inChicago in 1936 as a one-room operation in space rented from the
Lyons Band Instrument Company. By 1957, the company had outgrown the premises at Lyons and built a 20,000 square foot plant in
Park Ridge, Illinois. Neil A Kjos, Jr., soon began working for the company after receiving degrees from St. Olaf College and
Teachers College, Columbia University, and serving in the 524th Air Force Band. During his studies, Neil Jr. met Jane Smisor
Bastien, future author of the best-selling piano methods around the world. Neil Jr. acquired the title of president when his father
retired in 1969.
In 1973, Neil Jr. determined that the company should expand to a part of the country with a more reasonable climate. A location in
San Diego, California, was selected for the construction of a new plant. After completion in 1975, the Neil A. Kjos Music Company
operated from both San Diego and Park Ridge. In 1985, the Park Ridge location closed, and all operations were transferred to the
newly expanded facility in San Diego.
Neil Jr.’s two children, Mark and Tim, joined the company in the mid-1980s. Upon Neil Jr.’s retirement in 2000, Mark and Tim, with
their strong business and music backgrounds, continue the legacy established by their grandfather and father
.
Since its inception in 1936, the Neil A. Kjos Music Company has pursued the goal of publishing the most effective methods and
compositions for music teachers and students. Kjos Music continues to set the standard in all areas of the educational music
publishing industry.
Neil A. Kjos, Sr. was the brother-in-law of Olaf Christiansen, the son of the founder of the Saint Olaf Choir, and the second
conductor of that famed group. From the company's earliest days, choral music has also been an emphasis.
External links
Neil A. Kjos Jr. NAMM Oral History Interview(2003)
Jane Bastien NAMM Oral History Interview (2006)
Bruce Pearson NAMM Oral History Interview (2017)
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