Roper Music

136 North 5th Street
Grand Junction, CO 81501
(970)242-3272
info@ropermusic.com

Our Store Hours:
9:30 - 6:00 Weekdays
9:30 - 5:00 Saturdays
Closed on Sunday
9:30 - 2:00 Summer Saturdays

Serving music education on the western slope of Colorado for over 50 years.
Member: NAMM, NASMD, RPMDA, NAPBIRT, MTNA

Meet our lovely and talented staff:

Meet John Handley:		John, our fearless leader, has the self proclaimed title of CBW (Chief Bottle Washer). He was hired in August of 1984 by Gil Roper and Joe Grantham as a repair technician. John is from Danville, IL, joined the Navy in 1975 and played in the Norfolk Fleet Band for 4 years. After he retired from the Navy, he went to play out and about in Chicago for a few years then went to Allied Music Corp for training in band instrument repair. When John graduated from Allied he was hired by Paxton Music in Valparaiso, IN and a year later came out west to Grand Junction. John spends way to much time practicing the bass and dreaming about Lake Powell, but mostly enjoys eating bon bons with his feet up. Email John
Meet Kris Kjeldgaard:		Kris has been working for Roper Music since 1992. She started out as the road sales representative, soon discovered she was better suited to paperwork than John and has been "Chief Paper Shuffler" ever since. Kris has a Bachelor of Arts from Western State College and enjoys playing percussion in the Centennial Band. Email Kris
Meet Sandy Sundstrom:		Sandy grew up in Colorado Springs in a family of musicians. After high school she moved to Arizona where she attended Arizona State University and earned her Bachelor of Music in Education with an Instrumental Major and Choral Minor. Sandy has taught band, choir and orchestra at all levels - elementary through college. She and her family moved to town this summer after her husband retired from a municipality. Sandy is a violinist and enjoys performing with the Grand Junction Symphony and the Valley Symphony. She is truly excited to serve you as the Print Music Manager for Roper Music. Email Sandy
Meet Katie Schultz:		Katie born and raised in Grand Junction started working for Roper Music in 2006 as a junior at Fruita Monument High School. She has a big heart for music and the performing arts, spending much of her time growing up practicing the piano or singing. You may have even seen her in a couple of theatre performances around town at the Cabaret, Metro, or Mesa State College. Currently she is finishing up her B.A. in Mass Communication with concentrations in PR/ Advertising, New Media and Journalism. Yet, she still finds times to practice "nine to ten hours a day" (like the rest of us) on the piano or guitar. Knowing how to do a little bit of almost everything at the store, Katie is willing to jump in and help out customers anyway she can. Email Katie
Meet Amanda Riley:		Amanda is a Grand Junction native who loves to play her violin. She is currently a fill-in for the Grand Junction Symphony and performs in a Mariachi band. Amanda enjoys spending time outside and hiking with her puppy more than anything. Email Amanda
Meet Greg Karly:		Greg is a Grand Junction native who joined our repair department in the summer of 2008 and is quickly learning the art of instrument repair from Mr. Handley and the other veterans in the shop. Before he came to us, Greg was a band director in the Mesa County School District for 31 years teaching in the Fruita area schools. Mr. Karly has Bachelors and Masters Degrees in trombone performance and a BA in music education from UNC, as well as an impressive performance career with too many credits to list. In his "spare" time, Greg is the conductor and lead trombonist of the Western Colorado Jazz Orchestra and he is still active as a clinician and performer. He also enjoys recording and editing live performances, editing music for dance studios, restoring old recordings, fishing and motorcycling. Email Greg
Meet John Kite:		John has been repairing instruments at Roper Music since 1987, he learned the trade under the tutelage of John Handley and Joe Grantham, and has continued to hone his skills by annually attending the NAPBIRT (National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians) Convention. His repair emphasis is on brass instruments, although as a clarinet player he dabbles in woodwind instruments as well. In his spare time, Mr. Kite enjoys playing his clarinet in the Grand Jct Centennial Band. Email John
Meet Seth Strickland:		Seth has been learning the art of Brass repair under the supervision of John Kite and Mr. Handley since the fall of 2007. After graduating from Palisade HS in 2001, Seth enrolled at Mesa State College to study the finer points of history and literature before realizing that his true passion has always been music. As an aspiring novelist Seth is working on what he calls "The Next Great American Novel." In his free time, Seth enjoys hunting, fishing, camping and competitive shooting and if thats not enough, Seth also plays the bass guitar and alto sax in Grand Junction's newest rock band "Shades of Gonzo." Email Seth
Meet Steve Cheyney:		Steve has been with us since January 2005 as our wonderful stringed instrument repairman. A Colorado Springs native, Steve moved to the valley in 2001 to be closer to his granddaughter. He is mainly a fretted instrument expert but is quickly learning the ways of the orchestral genre. In his spare time he enjoys playing one of his many vintage acoustic instruments and is an avid rock climber and hiker. Email Steve
Meet Jeff Goryca:		Jeff became our "Mr. Wemsco" in 1999, he comes over to Colorado from Virginia every summer to give us hand with our little manufacturing business in the basement of Roper Music building tuba hangers. Jeff was born in Detroit in 1960 (rumors that he was the love child of Diana Ross are not true). He graduated with a Music Performance Degree in Clarinet from Michigan State in 1983, performed and recorded with the Detroit Concert Band for 4 years. Attended the Red Wing Vo-Tech for Band Instrument Repair from 1983-1984. Jeff decided to drop out of the "main-stream" in 1984 and learned woodworking, black-smithing, and home-steading skills, he helps keep our store "green". Email Jeff G
Meet Steven Lawson:		Steven has been with us since 2003 and is the guy who keeps us all in line. He is responsible for keeping our store clean and presentable everyday for our customers. Steven enjoys collecting old rock music paraphernalia and playing the bass guitar.
A little bit about Roper Music:		Early in 1947 Gilbert Roper and his brother started Roper Brothers Music and Electronics in Montrose, Colorado. They purchased a forty foot portable tower, placed it on the Flattops and made it possible for Montrose residents to have television two years before Grand Junction. Roper picked up some surplus amplifiers at a good price and began placing them in the televisions that he demonstrated and sold. The amp made the picture much clearer which gave him a great advantage over his competitors. The Roper Brothers decided to open a music and electronics store in Grand Junction in 1957 at 439 North Ave. Shortly after the death of Charlie Steen, one of their competitors, Mr. Roper bought the Charlie Steen music store for $20,000 in August of 1957. Then his next move was to hire a sales person. The position was soon filled by Joe Grantham. Joe developed an excellent rapport with the local band directors and was trusted for his reliability and knowledge. He eventually became part owner of the business and was a huge part of its success. In 1964 Roper Music established a subsidiary company called WEMSCO (Western Music Specialty Company). The director of bands at Western State College by the name of "Hawk" Hawkins saw the need for some type of hanger for large band instruments to keep them from getting damaged. The first sousaphone hanger produced by WEMSCO was made out of wood and shelf brackets covered with plastic and was not very profitable. Mr. Roper took welding classes at Mesa College in order to have the skills needed to make the hangers out of steel. On March 25, 1969, patent number 213,629 was issued for the WEMSCO sousaphone hanger, they, as well as a few other models, are still in production today. During the late sixties and early seventies, Roper Music carried a large selection of records and stereo equipment. During this time the store hired Marge Gately as a record sales person who later became the music sales representative. Over her seventeen years of employment, she gained the respect of band directors from all over the Western Slope until her retirement in 1994. In 1984, John Handley joined Roper Music as a repairman and held that position for three years. When Joe's health began to deteriorate, John was able to fill the position of sales representative. Since that time John has been able to add more elements to the success of Roper Music, taking over the business in 1992, following Mr. Roper's retirement. The success of Roper Music as a business can be explained by the innovative business practices of Gilbert Roper. He also combined honesty, consistency and quality service to insure his customers satisfaction. This solid foundation will carry us into the future. Roper Music's mission is to support music education at all levels and mediums by providing quality merchandise to our customers and giving each and every customer the very best service with a capable and courteous staff. This goal is the heart of our organization and the reason people shop at our store.

Email us for more information or just come on in.