The roots of the Yamaha Corporation can be traced back to the organ when, in 1887, a local school needing repairs for their reed organ contacted Torakusu Yamaha, the third son of a Samurai. Yamaha, who had originally trained as a watchmaker, was so fascinated by the workings of the instrument that he decided to build one himself.
Once completed, the Yamaha founder then carried the instrument on his back to Tokyo (a round trip of 250 miles) to seek the opinions of an eminent music professor. Following that meeting the Yamaha legend was born.
Through constant innovation and technological leadership, Yamaha has grown to be the world's largest and most successful maker of quality musical instruments. Yamaha's global network extends across 20 countries and it now has manufacturing facilities in 15 countries.
Music education is at the heart of the Yamaha philosophy and currently 170,000 students are studying in Yamaha Music Schools worldwide. In the UK, Yamaha is successfully partnering state schools up and down the country with the aim of improving music provision and access to quality music teaching. In the UK, Yamaha are involved in many community music projects and have strong links with a number of charities engaged in improving people's lives through music.
Unlike any other company, Yamaha has successfully expanded into the manufacture of many types of instruments. Yamaha pianos, brass and woodwind instruments are played by many of the worlds top concert artists, and indeed a critical element of the Yamaha design strategy is to constantly invite artists to get involved in the design process.
Yamaha Music production equipment can be found in many of the world's top recording studios and the recent move into the burgeoning UK dance scene has seen Yamaha equipment chosen by the dance floors' finest.
In accordance with its desire to bring the joy of music to as many people as possible, Yamaha pioneered the development of the portable personal keyboard, a product that gave many people their first taste of music making. The trend continues today with innovative new products bringing music production to a wider audience.
Yamaha-Kemble Music (UK) Ltd is part of the Yamaha Corporation worldwide group of companies and is responsible for Yamaha musical instruments and pro audio equipment in the UK and Northern Ireland.
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