Getzen
 Oral History, Don Getzen talks about the National Association of School Music Dealers. Interview date May 13, 2010, NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Oral History Library
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The Getzen Company is a family-owned manufacturer and wholesaler of brass instruments. The present product portfolio consists of trumpets, cornets, flugelhorns, trombones and a baritone horn. Four generations of the Getzen family have participated in the company. Although Getzen instruments are not as famous and as well known as other companies such as the Vincent Bach Corporation and King Musical Instruments, most Getzen instruments are rated well by consumers.
In 1939, Anthony James (T.J.) Getzen founded the Getzen Company, in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Getzen had trained in instrument repair with the C.G. Conn company and worked as a plant superintendent for the Frank Holton Company. Initially opened as a repair shop, the company expanded after World War II to instrument manufacture. In 1946, Getzen produced its first trombones. In 1947, Getzen started producing trumpets and cornets as well. In 1949, J. Robert Getzen, T.J.'s son, assumed the position of plant superintendent and Getzen started to produce piston bugles. These bugles became popular with Drum and Bugle Corps.
In 1959, J. Robert Getzen left the company to found Allied Music. His brother Donald Getzen briefly assumed the leadership of the company in 1960 and acquired control of the Hoosier Band Instrument Company. Late in 1960, the family sold the company to attorney Harold M. Knowlton. No longer a family-owned business, the company continued to follow the same business model, expanding its visibility through an association with trumpeter Carl “Doc” Severinsen of The Tonight Show fame. In addition to the marketing aspect, this association also produced the Getzen 900 Severinsen Model Eterna trumpet. Producing both student and professional lines, the Getzen company was preparing to expand in October 1963 when the existing facility was destroyed by fire. The new factory opened in February 1964 with only a brief interruption in business. Founder T.J. Getzen died in 1968
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