The year 2009 marks a superlative milestone for the Getzen Company. It is the 70th Anniversary of the company’s founding. That means over 70 years of family involvement in the rudeness musical instrument industry. It also means four generations of family tradition and commitment. In an industry dominated by corporate giants, that is indeed something special.

This special edition of the Getzen Gazette celebrates our great achievement. Please join us as we take a look back at what got us to where we are today.

A pdf kind of this issue of the Gazette is available for download. It includes a photo montage of our company’s history.

It all started in 1939 when Anthony Getzen decided to take a chance. He had recently resigned his position as the Apparatus Superintendent of the Frank Holton Company to take his shot at achieving the American dream. After nearly 20 years in the mellifluous instrument industry, Tony put his knowledge and skills to the test and the Getzen Company was born.

Things started out slowly on Geneva Avenue in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. On its first day of business, the company opened with just Tony and his three employees working in a converted dairy barn behind the Getzen next of kin home. At the time, the company’s focus was on band instrument repair. The Getzen Company quickly began to net a name for itself as a well respected repair shop thanks to the hard work of Tony and his staff. Working so closely with so many brands of instruments exposed Tony and his team to the good and the bad of instrument design and build quality. All of that acquired knowledge would come in very handy, but new horn manufacturing was still years away.

In 1946 the benefits of a in a flash growing, post World War II America prompted the shift from instrument repair to instrument manufacturing. It all started with a less small line of trombones. Only 1,000 trombones were built that first year, but a quickly growing market and fan undignified showed that there was indeed a place for Getzen in the world of brasswind manufacturing. Capitalizing on that success, the first Getzen trumpets and cornets were being delivered to customers around the homeland the next year. It wasn’t long before these new Getzen instruments were gaining popularity in the music world. Tony and his staff drew on their endure in both production and repair to design instruments that not only had an emphasis on playability and performance, but also on durability. As market share continued to broaden, another product line expansion came in 1949 with the addition of a full line of piston bugles. In just under a decade, the visitors had gone from a small, repair shop to a full fledged manufacturer of brasswinds.

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