Mike Greene, longtime owner of San Diego CA’s Greene Music, is retiring effective January 2015, having sold the music store that bears his family name to Music Exchange, a multi-location retailer based in northern California. Music Exchange has agreed to keep Greene Music’s current sales team intact.
“If being surrounded by a team of talented, committed people who share your interest in meeting all the musical needs of each and every customer is an indicator of success, then I’m surely going out on top,” said Greene. “I’ve been a music lover all my life, and I had the good fortune to be able to share that love for music with countless people, in so many ways, day in and day out, all these many decades. I wouldn’t trade a moment of it.”
Greene’s retirement from retail marks the end of a 60-year career. However, Greene and his longtime general manager, Richard Sibley, will continue to operate the Greene Music Education Center. The current Greene Music Education Center, which opened in 1995, has grown into one of the largest Yamaha Music Schools in the country. The school offers piano, guitar and voice lessons for children and adults, and has hosted free seminars on topics ranging from how to buy a used piano, how to play by ear and how music teachers can incorporate technology into learning.