The Staff of Buckeye Brass and Winds

Rob Phillips

Owner

With nearly 35yrs working in the musical instrument industry, Rob still has high aspirations.  Having worked first as an apprentice and repairman for Pat Hiatt of Dayton, Ohio, and then Ray Spillman of Columbus, Ohio, Rob’s experience in the service segment of the industry led to his interest in manufacturing.  After graduating from Ohio State he was called upon to work at United Musical Instruments, now known as Conn-Selmer.  This role would see him as a product developer, tool room manager, production manager, and engineering manager, as well as systems integration leader.

Wearing a business hat as well as an entrepreneurial hat in an industry that is firmly rooted in traditional practices is a daily challenge.  Rob has gone from starting a small start up instrument repair shop in the midst of a recession in 2007 to running a full service, community-minded music store.  

Buckeye Brass & Winds is known for its vast resources and ability to take on challenges that typical music stores are not capable of.  Rob’s goal has always been to be an innovator and a challenger of the norm.

Rob’s future aspirations include developing and manufacturing professional trombones, euphoniums, tubas, and other brass instruments as well as creating a second company to facilitate these products – The Ohio Band Instrument Company.

Shawn Flowers

Education Representative

Business Consultant

Shawn joined Buckeye Brass and Winds in the fall of 2018 and brought with him twenty years of small business experience and leadership.  He currently serves as the Education Rep and Business Consultant.  He is a 1990 graduate of The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business where he studied finance and marketing and was also a member of the Ohio State University Marching Band for four years.  After graduation, Shawn worked in management at Huntington National Bank and Huntington Investment Company.  In addition to his service with Huntington, Shawn helped establish his wife's medical practice in their home town of Grove City, Ohio.  He served as the practice administrator and worked with other privately owned practices and hospital systems in the Columbus area as a small business development consultant.  

Shawn returned to Ohio State in the late 90’s to continue his education at the OSU School of Music where he studied music education and trumpet performance.  He was a member of the OSU Wind Symphony and the OSU Symphony Orchestra and maintained a private studio for middle school and high school students.  In addition to his experiences at OSU, Shawn has performed with a variety of groups including the Central Ohio Symphony, the New Albany Symphony, the Westerville Symphony, the Brass Band of Columbus, the Grove City Winds, and has performed at the MidWest Band and Orchestra Clinic.

Outside of business and music, Shawn enjoys fishing, traveling, and serves as a middle and high school shooting coach at Grove City Christian School.  He and his wife live in Grove City and have two adult children. 

Korey Saunders

Lead Brass Technician

Trumpet Specialist

Vintage Instrument Authority

Korey has been repairing brass instruments for Buckeye Brass and Winds since 2016.  Korey is a graduate of The Ohio State University School of Music where he was a trumpet major and student of Dr. Richard Burkhart.  Prior to joining Buckeye Brass and Winds, Korey worked in a shop repairing antique automatic pianos and organs.  

In his spare time he enjoys playing in the 2nd Cavalry Brigade Band, a mounted Civil War reenactment band that uses all original instruments.  He also performs in other historic ensembles and occasionally plays organ for his church.

 

Terry has been an active repair technician since 2017 and specializes in saxophone repair as well as custom work and modifications. He regularly works to further his education and explores new methods and repair techniques alongside expanding his hobby in metalsmithing/jewelry making.  Terry is the lead woodwind technician for Buckeye Brass and Winds and is our saxophone and flute specialist.  He is also Straubinger certified.

He holds memberships with the National Association of Band Instrument Repair Technicians and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. 

Megan Lopez

Brass Technician/Apprentice

Megan joined the Buckeye Brass and Winds team in 2021 as a brass repair apprentice. She is a graduate of the Ohio State University where she focused on Tuba, and was a student of Professor Jim Akins. While a student there she performed in the Marching Band, Collegiate Winds, and Symphonic Band.

As an apprentice, Megan spends her day-to-day learning the skill and craft of repairing instruments and being taught by senior staff. Although she is still learning, she is detail oriented and enjoys expanding her knowledge with new instruments, and new challenges.

Megan's aspirations include honing her techniques for brass repair expanding her musical repertoire through performance, and studying brass instrument fabrication.

Lonny Young

Retail and Accounts Manager

Low Brass and Bass Player

Lonny joined Buckeye Brass in September 2020 to help update the website.  His role quickly morphed into transitioning Buckeye Brass to a new Point-of-Sale system and a new web site.  Lonny also works with the school instrument Rental Program.  He came to Buckeye Brass from the retail industry, but also with experience in education.

Lonny enjoys playing tuba and bass trombone when he has some free time. He is currently a member of the Westerville Community Band as part of the tuba section. He also played bass in the Ohio State University Athletic Band and transcribes orchestral works for concert band for personal amusement.

Josh Niswonger

Education Representative

Trumpet Player

Josh joined Buckeye Brass and Winds part time in the winter of 2017 while teaching music full time in Columbus City Schools.  In 2022, after five years of teaching, he joined full time in his current role as an Education Rep. He is a 2017 graduate of Otterbein University where he got his Bachelors in Music Education.

Josh performed trumpet in multiple groups at Otterbein including: the marching band, jazz band, and Towers Brass Quintet. In addition to his experiences at Otterbein, Josh is currently performing cornet with the Dublin Silver Brass band.

Outside of music, Josh enjoys building his Mustang and spending quality time with his wife and two kitties at home.