Dear Listers,

I am looking for a new (to me) source for buying
choral music. We have been having problems with
JWPepper's new billing system and are looking for
alternate resources. I usually buy beginning-easy
intermediate unison or two-part music for my
elementary students in quantities of 75-100, and
prefer it to be shipped quickly (don't we all?) so I'm
looking for a source which carries a wide selection in
addition to having a large quantity in stock.

I'd love to hear both your good and bad experiences!



Carolyn Dwyer
Lower School Choral Director
Holy Innocents' Episcopal School

Staff Singer (Soprano)
Holy Innocents' Episcopal Church

Freelance Flutist

Atlanta, Georgia

caroflutesinger(at)yahoo(dot)com

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Thank you to all who wrote to tell me good places to
buy music. Here are the (edited) answers I received:

4 votes

Call 1-800-2 SOURCE, then dial ext. *817. This is The
Musical Source located in Washington DC. This is the
only place I do business anymore AND they give you a
20% discount. Ask for Nancy, Debbie, or Jack and tell
them I told you to call (I get nothing from them for
doing this). I advise all of my
conducting students to only use The Musical Source if
you want to do business with competent professionals.
These people will take care of you.
I use The Musical Source (1-800-2-source) in
Washington, DC. All of the Eastern ACDA division
Honors choir use them, they are a national presence
among ACDA and MENC. Frankly, they are attentive to
all order -- foreign and domestic and they charge
current exchange for items from Europe. Perhaps the
later is less a concern for K-12, but as a conductor
who often must special order items from European
sources, they always get the orders in quickly (a
problem many other "local" type stores seem to have as
they want to make minimums required for maximum
discounts before placing the orders). They have
excellent relationships with all the major (and less
major) publishers and find even hard to get stuff for
me all the time.
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3 votes

I am happy to tell you about Octavo Music, owned by
Scott Dixon--he discounts all sales by 30%--yes,
30%--and his service is consistently the finest I have
ever experienced.
Because of the discount, he prefers to deal in the
kind of numbers you
mentioned in your message--but he has happily ordered
15-20 scores for me
many times, if that was all that I needed. His number
is 800.844.6874

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3 votes

I've always had very good results from Brodt Music in
North Carolina. Their choral staff seem to know their
stuff. http://www.brodtmusic.com
I highly recommend Brodt Music Charlotte, NC. I order
all my materials from
them direct. If it's not in stock they have it in a
week.
Website is not the greatest but the people there are
fantastic.

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3 votes

I would recommend Stanton's Sheet Music, in Columbus,
Ohio. They carry a lot of unison, two-part, and
elementary music in stock, and ship quickly. In
addition, they give 10% off to educators! I'm sure
they have a website you can find easily.
1-800-42-MUSIC

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3 votes

University Music Service
PO Box 354
Hershey, PA 17033
800-858-300
Talk with either Carl or Ross
Owner is Ross W. Ellison, Ph.D.
Excellent knowledge and resource for choral music
Visit their web site at www.universitymusic.com
These guys have been pretty good, and offer a 25%
discount if you order by July 20. Also a special in
December/January. (Check website for details.)
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2 votes

Educational Music Service
13 Elkay Drive
Chester, NY 10918
845-469-5790
Talk with Carla Lebedeff and/or Don Boyer
Many schools and professionals buy their music from
EMS. They have a huge data base available to their
customers and have the most knowledgeable customer
service individuals of any dealer. In 25 years of
buying from them I have never had a problem that was
their fault.
Any work of any type that is in print can be
supplied by EMS quickly. Call them and talk about
discount and billing,
Educational Music Service (EMS):
T 845-469-5790, F 845-469-5817
http://www.emsmusic.com/
[10:00 - 1:00, 2:00 - 5:00 ET]
33 Elkay Drive
Chester, NY 10918 USA
sales(a)emsmusic.com
Martha Ling, CEO
Carla Boyer, Manager
Don Boyer, Assistant Manager
Fern Ashworth, Sales Department

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2 votes

Try sheetmusicplus.com
You have to do an 'upgrade' on the shipping however,
otherwise it takes a long time to ship

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2 votes

Musical Resources, Toledo, Ohio is extremely
knowledgble, normal discounts, excellent service and
support.

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1 vote for

We invite you to visit Oceanna Music Publications,
where you can buy dierct from the publisher. Our
website is: www.oceannamusic.com

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1 vote

For some time, I have dealt VERY successfully with
Senseney Music (Wichita, KS). Ken Jones was the chief
choral specialist there until the end of June, when he
retired. Krista Hart has replaced him. Service is
excellent in every way.

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1 vote

I have had uniformly excellent experiences with these
folks:
http://musikinnovations.com/

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1 vote

I have, on occasion, also ordered items from
Ward-Brodt in Madison, WI as they have a lot of
individual octavos in stock (more than Musical Source)
so it makes looking at many individual titles for
planning pretty easy.

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1 vote

There is also Schmidt's music in Minneapolis.

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1 vote

Music & Arts used to be in my neighborhood when I
lived in Maryland. Now that I live in Knoxville, TN,
I don't use them anymore. But, if they are near you,
they are pretty good and they gave music teachers a
20% discount.

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1 vote

I have been using A & D Music Distributors out of
Virginia for several years. They offer a great
discount on larger quantities of music. They will
drop ship from publishers, etc. For the discount, you
can't beat it.
A word of caution, be sure and record the date you
order the music and who you spoke to if you have
questions about an order. I have never tried to
return music to them, so I am not sure about their
policy there.

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1 vote

Also I buy music from Youngs music. They specialize
in used music and I am all for used music if it's what
I need. I think their web site is
www.youngsmusic.com. The price is right there too.

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1 vote

I love American Music Co., Liberty MO
(www.americanmusiccompany.com They supply me well.
Jay Carter is quite knowledgeable. They are fast and
reliable.

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1 vote

By far the best place I've found is Orpheus Dei based
in Atlanta. You can call direct at 404-525-4722, or
888-525-4722 and Steven Darsey will give you excellent
personal service. At times I've received the music
within 3 or 4 days after placing the order. I think
we even get a discount! Their website is
www.orpheusdei.com

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1 vote

I have had excellent success by ordering from Kempke
Music in Florida.

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1 vote

I have discovered a gem in a small Texas business.
Tonya Hart, in Austin, offers great personal service,
and if you need something ASAP she orders a drop-ship
from the publisher, and I get the music within a few
days. She also offers a regular discount from 20% to
30%, depending on number of copies.
BUT, the best is her annual sale, which requires
complete orders submitted by mid-May, shipped in early
JULY and 40% off ALMOST ALL major publishers, if the
bill is paid in full within 30 days.
Check her out as follows:
Hart Music of Texas
12520 Labrador Cove
Austin, TX 78729
Att: Tonya Hart
PH: (Toll-free) 866-381-0002
FAX: 512-336-0042
EMAIL: hartmusicoftx(a)sbcglobal.net

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1 vote for, 3 votes against

I always use JWPepper, and I haven't had any billing
problems.

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1 vote

I buy all my music at Head's House of Music in Tampa,
Florida. You can't purchase music online but you can
give them a call and they will find anything you need.
Here are some things they do that I LIKE:
*I can put a open purchase order in August for a
certain amounnt of money and they will let me know
when I have spent most of it.
*They also give me a 20% discount for paying in 30
days of invoice.
*They have been in business forat least 50 years.
I admit using JWPepper's website to look at music and
pick things out - then I call or fax Head's with my
order. One time I had a piece of music on backorder
and they offered to send me a letter explaining the
situation to a judge so that I could use a copy at
festival. Every summer Head's holds a huge choral
reading session free in Orlando. They bring in
clinicians with lots of free scores. Great excuse for
a working vacation!
go to www.headshouseofmusic.com

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1 vote

I really like Music Publishers Discount Outlet (out of
FL), but you have to know what you want, and not be in
a hurry. They only order music as YOU order it (by
1-800 fax number), but at a huge discount: choral -
30%; Handbell - 25%; and instrumental - %15. And it
can take 4-6 weeks to get it (my experience with them
is generally 3-4 max, however).

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1 vote

I have had good luck with more "local" places, like
University Music House (in Columbus OH)

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1 vote

I have had good luck with more "local" places, like
Dave's Music Den (in Ft. Wayne IN).

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1 vote

Another place I know ships nationally and does good
work--we use it at Albion College a lot is Eble Music
at www.Eble.com.
Address: 115 South Linn Street, Iowa City, IA
Phone:(319)338-0313;
Fax: (319) 338-0108.
E-mail: orders(a)eble.com
Ask for Marcia Fuller. She's will treat you well.

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1 vote

Volkweins in Pittsburgh, PA.

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1 vote

For catalogue ordering, I use Musictime. They have
just about everything and give a 20% discount. I
believe they are in NJ.







Carolyn Dwyer
Lower School Choral Director
Holy Innocents' Episcopal School

Staff Singer (Soprano)
Holy Innocents' Episcopal Church

Freelance Flutist

Atlanta, Georgia

caroflutesinger(at)yahoo(dot)com

__________________________________________________
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Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
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