Today we’d like to introduce you to Keren Barr
Hi Keren, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I got a degree in Music Education and wanted to teach middle school band. When I got into my dream position, I realized it was not exactly what I wanted and was looking for a way to stay in the music field. My husband, Michael, was also teaching band at the time and suggested that we go to instrument repair school. It seemed like a great path as there are very few people that know how to repair instruments. We went to Minnesota State College Southeast and got a diploma in repair. Returning to Georgia, we worked with several big companies before we struck out on our own. Opening our own business was scary at first but it gave us the opportunity to serve the students and schools of the community, circling us right back to where we wanted to be anyway. We are back in the schools and helping students play their best by making sure their instruments are working properly.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The hardest part of handling this business is how quickly that it grew. We are never without instruments to repair or maintenance. If we are not careful, we will spend every waking hour at our shop. We have to be very mindful to take time off and set solid boundaries with customers and schools. Thankfully we were able to hire two technicians in 2023 to assist with the work load and they are fantastic! This was especially important in 2024 as I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (breast cancer) and had a series of surgeries, including a bilateral mastectomy, to remove the cancer. I was out a lot with doctor’s appointments and a long recovery time. The new additions to our staff, Marlen Diaz and Destiny Weems, are truly a blessing as they helped us navigate this tough health year. I am now cancer free and am taking lots of medication to help keep the cancer away.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a band instrument repair technician. I work on repairing, maintaining, and restoring woodwinds. My speciality is flute but I love all of the woodwinds. I have advanced certifications on handmade flutes from Straubinger and Muramatsu. I am one of the few people in the southeast that holds both of these certifications and I love working with professional, semi-professional, and student flutists.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
There have been several risks taken for the benefit of our business. One was starting out on our own. It is quite expensive to purchase all of the tooling for this type of business. We were lucky enough to have a family member give us a low interest loan to start us out and we were able to pay it back within the first year. To make ends meet in the beginning, I had to go back to teaching for awhile. Our next risk was me quitting that job and all of the lovely insurance benefits that came with it. Lastly, hiring on people to our company was another jump. We were now responsible for other people’s livelihood. We do not take that responsibility lightly. But with each risk, there has been a huge reward. We are so happy with our current location and staff and we keep getting more and more repairs every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.northgeorgiaband.com/
- Instagram: n_ga_band
- Facebook: North Georgia Band Instrument Service
