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. Meet 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”.
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.