How it all began
June Emerson Wind Music was officially launched on May 1st 1971 from a house in
St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England.
June had been an active freelance bassoon player and teacher until her children
were born in 1967/68. This was just at the time when teaching of wind instruments
in schools was beginning to take off in the UK. Many friends, who were also teachers,
were finding it difficult to get music for their pupils as music shops kept very
little repertoire.
To fill this need June decided to start a mail-order music business specifically
for wind players. She had a starting capital of £11.23 and a great deal of enthusiasm,
having developed a great love of handling printed music when librarian of the Edinburgh
Rehearsal Orchestra (now The Rehearsal Orchestra).
Her first catalogue was compiled from lists of recommended music by friends who
were teachers, and about 50 copies were mailed out. At this time she had no stock
of music whatever. As soon as the orders started coming in she would buy in copies
from the publishers for the customers and a spare copy of each title for the shelf.
In this way the stock was built up, copy by copy, of music that customers really
wanted. Now, in 2009, the stock now stands at almost 40,000 works, so the experiment
was obviously a success.
Our Stock
We order from a selection of nearly 1,400 publishers and suppliers worldwide (as
necessary) 3 times per week, which ensures a regular and speedy replenishment of
stock. We always charge the recommended retail price (RRP) as set by the publisher/supplier,
unless no trade discount is offered in which case we impose a minimal mark-up to
avoid financial loss. Music from overseas is priced according to the exchange rate
at the time of delivery (except US publications, which are converted $-£ to cover
enormous shipping costs!)
The Business Ethos
We make a point of avoiding business jargon and of treating our customers as friends,
as indeed many of them have become. Music is an area of life for which so-called
‘business practices’ are entirely inappropriate. The bottom line is, of course,
a consideration as a matter of survival, but not our prime concern. We will often
do something at a loss, just to help a musician in a crisis. We know from years
of experience that the goodwill created in this way far outweighs any financial
loss.
Why We're Different
We think, and our customers reinforce this idea, that we are different because we
are specialised, friendly and give a speedy and knowledgeable service. General music
shops are just not able to give the service that we provide as they can’t keep such
a comprehensive stock for the rather limited area of wind music that we specialise
in.
Our Customers
Our customers include music conservatoires worldwide, music schools, orchestras,
professional musicians, teachers, pupils and many thousands of amateur music-makers.
Music is the great international language and removes all barriers between nationalities
and age-groups.
Our Information Base
Our catalogues, listing the works we stock, are used all over the world as reference
guides. They are updated approximately every 12-18 months and are used by such institutions
as the British Library and the BBC. The information listed on our website is generated
from our stock database and is updated every 10 seconds.
Green Stuff
We recycle as much as possible, reusing all packaging materials that are still in
good enough condition and passing some packaging on to other companies that don’t
suit our needs. All our catalogues, invoices and Emerson Edition publications are
printed on recycled paper. Our staff members also collect and bring in all recyclable
polythene, plastic packaging, cartons, batteries, ink cartridges…you name it, we
get it to the recycling centre!
Last, but by no means least - the staff!
We have a happy team of 11 part-time staff at JEWM, some of whom have been here
for a very long time. It’s a good mixture of musicians and non-musicians, with a
wide range of skills and abilities. We’re very much like a family, all working closely
together but seeing each other through personal ups and downs as well. This is very
important as it maintains the friendly and personal service which we extend to our
customers. They are:
Rachel Emerson - Partner
Tracy Battensby - Office Manager
John Toll - Accounts
Barbara Watson - Accounts
Stewart Thorp - Telephone
Jeremy Durant - Telephone
Graham Jeff - Telephone
Sara Cook - Invoicing & Shipping
Barbara Jones - Invoicing & Shipping
Alison Hicks - Invoicing & Shipping
Valerie Watts - Invoicing & Shipping
Sarah Ware - Emerson Edition Printing