After more than 20 years of furnishing school bands with musical instruments, repairing those instruments and ensuring the Island always had a healthy supply of horns, violins and ukuleles, John Larsen is calling it a career.
The founder of Larsen Music is selling the business.
“I have struggled with stepping down and retiring for years. In fact I don’t even like the sound of the word,” said the soft-spoken Larsen.
Larsen said the 3,000-square-foot store, which he moved into an old church on Cook Street in 2005, has always been a happy and comfortable place, filled with music and a staff of talented musicians always happy to lend a hand.
It’s easy to see why it’s been hard to walk away.
“I really will miss this, but you have to pick a time at some point. I’ve been struggling to pick a time for the last two years,” he said, with a laugh. “But it’s time. You get to an age when you want to spend more time with family.”
At 74, Larsen still has plenty of energy, but now he hopes to channel it into his three grandchildren, and a fourth who is arriving soon.
The business has been on the market for a few weeks, and he said there has been plenty of interest. However, Larsen said there is more interest in the building than the musical side of the shop.
“The property will be easy,” he said, noting it took only four days to sell his first building, where he first set up shop across the street in 1996. “I really think this area has improved a lot in the last 20 years.” In 2005, Larsen paid $280,000 for his current building, which was once the Church of God, and should do well on a sale as the property was last assessed at $682,000.
It may be harder to get someone to take over the music business and the more than 2,000 instruments he has in inventory.
Larsen said it’s tough for small businesses like his to compete with larger players such as Long & McQuade.
But he managed to do just that for more than two decades.
“You have to find your niche, and I have found it, not through any brilliant stroke, but I found one I really liked — working with kids, parents and teachers,” he said of the instrument rental program that outfitted bands all over the Island. “That was the mainstay of the business in the beginning. I found I really enjoyed being involved in that.”
Larsen said it was difficult, required long hours and dedication, a willingness to react quickly to the demands of the market and a commitment to quality and service. He’s proud of his store’s service, which he believes distinguished it from the big players. “It has been a demanding job,” he said. But it was one he loved.
“It has been a very pleasant 20 years. I’ve been in a position to help with something I believe in — music for kids,” he said. “And I have been lucky to work with people who are of the same mindset, people here are all musicians.”
Being involved in an industry that has consumed his life is what he will miss the most,
Larsen, an accomplished bassoonist, played music professionally for years in orchestras in Canada, Europe and Asia. He spent 10 years in Japan before returning to Victoria in 1988 with his wife, Eiko, and their two daughters.
He started Larsen Music in his home and quickly realized, after having to tip-toe around stacks of violins in the house, that he needed a store front. He opened at 1808 Cook St. in 1996.
That space became a music school after Larsen moved the store across the street to the old church in 2005.
“I really value what we’ve been through. It’s been fun and it’s been hard work, but there’s been a lot of pleasure in dealing with music with youngsters,” he said.
Larsen did more than just supply kids with instruments and lessons. He was a big part of the fight to save band and strings programs when school boards threatened to cut them to save money.
“Those cuts had a huge effect on us and other stores,” he said, though he was quick to point out the effect was much tougher on the kids. “It’s been a battle for 20 years. It’s so sad to see schools where some board has decided we have to cut so we will cut music.”
As he looks ahead to a life outside of the business, Larsen said he has no regrets.
“We’ve made some mistakes, but we’ve made some good decisions, too,” he said, noting the stocking of a range of good ukuleles was a stroke of genius from one of his staff.
“That was a big one, it turned out to be a big thing,” he said. “We sold 85 ukuleles in the first month.
“Who knew?”
