SALT LAKE CITY \u2014 The Daynes Music Company, a six-generation chapter in American Piano history, will shut its doors later this season.<\/p>\n
Founded by pioneers who crossed the plains with an organ that still sits in their store, Daynes Music<\/a> has been a lyrical heartbeat for 164 years.<\/p>\n Founded in 1862 by John Daynes in a log building in downtown Salt Lake City, the company became Utah\u2019s oldest continuously run family business and one of the nation\u2019s longest-standing music retailers.<\/p>\n In 1873, just two decades after Steinway & Sons was founded, Daynes became the first Steinway dealership west of New York, establishing what would grow into one of the most distinguished dealer relationships in the company\u2019s history.<\/p>\n The showroom inside of Daynes Music where dozens of pianos are displayed. (Wesley Barton, KSL)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kerwin Ipsen has worked to shape the business model for 39 years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a small business,\u201d CEO and President of Daynes Music Company, Kerwin Ipsen, said. \u201cWe are surrounded, every day, by the best musicians on earth and we hear the best music.\u201d<\/p>\n Ipsen noted that many local piano teachers and advanced students will be affected when the library no longer exists.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the most exclusive piano collection for classical sheet music that you can find in the state,\u201d Ipsen said. \u201cIt\u2019s the only place where you can walk in and find the complete set of etudes by Frederic Chopin. It\u2019s at your fingertips. You can browse it and play it.\u201d<\/p>\n Kerwin Ipsen shows the different artists who have visited the store over the years. (Wesley Barton, KSL)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ipsen worked closely with Skip Daynes, who ran the store for 50 years, before his passing in 2024. Skip\u2019s wife, Susan, said her late husband wanted to share the gift of music with everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wanted kids to learn how to play the piano,\u201d Susan Daynes said. \u201cHe worked to connect with university officials so that Utah\u2019s colleges and universities could have Steinways for their students to play on.\u201d<\/p>\n Over its tenure, Daynes Music likely sold more Steinway pianos than any other dealership and achieved more \u201cAll-Steinway School\u201d designations than any dealer in the country.<\/p>\n Institutions served include the University of Utah, Weber State University, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, Southern Utah University and Snow College.<\/p>\n What started as a log cabin storefront in downtown Salt Lake City in 1862 turned into a State Street showroom housing dozens of majestic pianos. Over the years, numerous global musical artists visited the store.<\/p>\n A piano with a portrait of John Daynes\u2019 1862 cabin. (Wesley Barton, KSL)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ipsen listed dozens, including the director of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Grant Johannesen, and Jazz phenomenon Billy Taylor.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have heard of The Five Browns,\u201d Ipsen said. \u201cSupporting them with five pianos wherever they went was a big and unique challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n The need for the music store is ongoing, but Susan mentioned it\u2019s been more challenging since her husband\u2019s passing.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom generation to generation, this music business has been our life,\u201d Susan said. \u201cThe dream crossed the plains. In fact, this organ traveled with the saints to Utah.\u201d<\/p>\n Susan motioned to a melodeon, which is a small organ, that sits in the music store\u2019s main office.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pioneers would play this every night after walking. The music brought joy,\u201d Susan said. \u201cOur ancestor Joseph J. Daynes played this organ and caught the attention of Brigham Young. When Joseph was 11-years-old, Brigham Young told him he would be the Tabernacle Organist.\u201d<\/p>\n The melodeon that\u2019s been passed down from generation to generation. (Wesley Barton, KSL)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Joseph traveled to New York to study music. Upon returning to Utah, he became the first Tabernacle Organist at the age of 15.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen he played the organ, he was so short that they had to put blocks on his feet, so his feet could reach the pedals,\u201d Susan said. \u201cHe was on the bench for 32 years and composed many songs in the hymn book.\u201d<\/p>\n The Daynes family brought music to the valley more than 160 years ago.<\/p>\n With the family business closing down, Susan hopes to find homes for 50 pianos. A sale begins next Thursday, March 12.<\/p>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source ksltv.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SALT LAKE CITY \u2014 The Daynes Music Company, a six-generation chapter in American Piano history, will shut its doors later this season. Founded by pioneers who crossed the plains with an organ that still sits in their store, Daynes Music has been a lyrical heartbeat for 164 years. Founded in 1862 by John Daynes in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2316219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2316218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Daynes-Music-is-closing-after-165-years.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2316218"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2316220,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316218\/revisions\/2316220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2316219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2316218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2316218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2316218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Kerwin](\"https:\/\/ksltv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Daynes-Music-030626_4-Wesley-Barton.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/ksltv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Daynes-Music-030626_2-Wesley-Barton-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/ksltv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Daynes-Music-030626_5-Wesley-Barton-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nRelated Story: Riverton Music to close location over tariff, inflation concerns<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n