The Tale of Educational Music Service

Bob Walls, our company founder, was a free spirit and very smart man. He had excelled at selling books for Doubleday, selling music for Hansen House, Shawnee Press and Frank Richards Music. On the side, just for fun, he was a church music director (and a darned good accordion player!). Being a rebel and lover of classical music, he decided to start his own company in 1979, selling sheet music to high schools, but soon branched out to orchestras, opera companies, choral societies, colleges and churches.

But, he wondered - what would make EMS stand out from other music dealers?

Bob knew that people usually want orders delivered quickly, economically, and accurately, so he had the radical idea to ask every customer for a delivery deadline, give them the best discount he could afford to give and still hire smart, hardworking classical musicians to help run the company. In 1981 he hired St. Louis Symphony assistant librarian Carla Lebedeff and 2 days later hired her soon-to-be-husband Don Boyer. Over the years they and their colleague, Fern Ashworth, thoroughly enjoyed being “air traffic controllers” for the sheet music needs of most of the “big” classical music organizations in North America and elsewhere as well as many of the medium, small and tiny groups, not to mention many conductors and other performing musicians.

After a long and illustrious career, Don and Carla Boyer retired in 2025; Fern Ashworth and Hermann Spree (in the EMS Germany office) continue forward, still providing the great service you have come to expect. Thank you for your continued business, and we look forward to helping you in the years to come!

Educational Music Service ("EMS") is the leading supplier of purchasable, printed music to symphony orchestras, opera companies, colleges & universities, choral groups, libraries, churches and schools in North American and Asia.

Founded in 1979 by Bob Walls, EMS has become known as a unique music dealer, whose knowledgeable salespeople, complete range of printed music and reliable, all-inclusive service have made music purchasing a surprisingly easy and enjoyable task for those who buy on behalf of institutions. As a result, our customer list now reads like a Who's Who of performing organizations and artists. Here are some of the differences that set us apart from other music dealers: