Tom Mapson, formerly a Yamaha District Manager and a tireless music education advocate, died on July 20 in Colorado Springs CO following a two-year bout with cancer. He was 70. Having developed a passion for music as a young boy working in the music store his parents owned in Minnesota, Mapson dedicated 30 years to the music products industry he loved before retiring from Yamaha Corp. of America last July.
Mapson joined Yamaha in May 1984 as a District Manager for what was then known as the Electronic Keyboard (EKB) Division, which, at the time, sold Electone, Portable Keyboards and the newly introduced Clavinova products. Shortly afterward, he was selected to be a member of the company’s Mall Development Team, which focused on reaching new EKB customers through dealer mall stores. Throughout his long music career, Mapson’s main role had been as the Yamaha District Manager in the Rocky Mountain/Midwest territory for the company’s EKB, Piano and Keyboard Divisions. Yamaha recognized Mapson’s outstanding work with dealers and everyone else with whom he came in contact by honoring him with President’s Club status in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
“Tom was a rare gift to the music products industry and to Yamaha: an extremely personable man who was deeply admired by his Yamaha colleagues and music dealers, as well as by the Colorado Springs community,” said Paul Calvin, Vice President and General Manager, Keyboard Division, Yamaha Corp. of America. “Tom once told me that he had the dream of being a manufacturer’s representative since he was a child. At his parents’ music store, he saw these representatives come through with their strong and polished presentations (and shiny cars), and he knew that this was what he wanted to do.” Calvin continued, “He did it very well, living out his own musical dreams as well as helping so many others realize their own. His achievements have been felt by so many in our industry, and he will be deeply missed.”