I often talk with teachers who share warm memories of my father, John W. Schaum. They recall the special pleasure of meeting him at one of his workshops or their pride in joining him in a duet. They tell how his artistry, personality and musical philosophy touched them and ultimately, their students. Schaum Publications is the continuation of his work. Knowing the story of John Schaum is to know how our company was conceived and built, where we are now, and what we envision for the future to bring music to others.

My father was a saver. As a result, his office had an accumulation of things scattered over the top of every horizontal surface, including his antique Steinway grand piano. When visitors came, he liked to show a reproduction of an old engraving of Beethoven in his study, sitting among numerous piles of papers and manuscripts in conspicuous disarray.

Contrary to the appearance of his office, Dad was really very well organized. There was always a purpose for the things he saved. He saved clippings from magazines and newspapers. Among many concert reviews and articles about performers and composers were clippings reflecting his political and social interests. There were copies of occasional letters to the editor he had written when he had strong feelings. Also included were articles on dozens of topics from animals and zoos to railroads and astronauts that he felt might serve to stimulate ideas in his teaching, writing and workshops.

He saved copies of correspondence with publishers, pianists, teachers, insurance companies, and manufacturers whose products he found irksome or defective. There were copies of recital and concert programs beginning in the mid 1920's, along with souvenir programs from countless ballets, circuses, musicals, magic shows, operas, ice skating extravaganzas and wrestling matches. He also saved postcards, photographs, sight-seeing brochures and historical pamphlets from his travels throughout all fifty states.

Needless to say, he had a vast collection of music, mostly for piano (more about this later). Fortunately, he was able to hire a team of librarians who helped to organize and catalog the music along with all the other things. All of this brings to mind an appreciation of the wide array of interests that formed the background for his creative endeavors.

It all started when he decided to make a career of piano teaching in the late 1920's. Dad began working as a private teacher and after several years organized the Schaum Piano School in 1933. The teaching faculty gradually expanded to a point where the school had eleven teaching studios up on the third floor of an office building on the east side of Milwaukee, just a few blocks from Lake Michigan. The collective teaching experiences in his school became the fountainhead for his writings.

My father's struggle to earn a living as a piano teacher durin