THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 20, 1995 TAG: 9501190152
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAWSON MILLS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
Bob Deal is hardly a kid, but he's been turned loose in a ``candy'' store. Sort of.
It was like a dream come true for Deal, a well-known name on the local classical music scene, to be named manager of the classical music department of Planet Music on Virginia Beach Boulevard.
For more than a year he's spent his days holding court in the 4,000-square-foot classical department where large paintings of Bach, Beethoven and Bernstein gaze down upon customers.
Classical music fills Deal's domain with nary a hint of the chartbusting pop hits playing just outside. Deal moves from displays to computer to customers, smiling broadly. As well he should. He's in his element.
A tubist, he graduated in 1977 from Old Dominion University with a degree in secondary education and a concentration in instrumental music. He has taught and directed school bands in Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Suffolk and volunteered with bands at Green Run, Princess Anne and First Colonial high schools in Virginia Beach as well as schools in Norfolk and Chesapeake.
He conducted the Virginia Beach Tuba Choir, founded and directed the Mayor's Municipal Band of Virginia Beach, is an announcer for the Tidewater Winds, announces and sometimes conducts at Kempsville band concerts, has sung with the Norfolk Savoyards and hosts ``Operetta For All'' and ``Pops for All'' on alternate Sundays on WFOS 88.7 FM.
He loves Gilbert and Sullivan and band music.
Deal said serendipity played a part in getting him where he is today.
``I answered an ad in the paper for a job in a music store. I thought it was a musical instrument shop. Only at the interview did I learn that it was a record store. I wasn't interested at first because I assumed it would be a typical rock 'n' roll kind of place. But then I learned it would have a separate classical room - 4,000 square feet - and my interest picked up in a hurry.''
That was September 1993. Deal actually started before the store opened that November, sorting through boxes of compact discs in a warehouse and getting ready for business.
When the Beach store opened, classical sales represented 12 percent of its sales. That figure has now jumped to 17 percent.
Browsers in Deal's department may notice more band music than expected, even in a department with more than 25,000 titles.
``We've taken the usual 30 or so titles and expanded it to over 250,'' he said. ``It's primarily because the Navy's School of Music is located here at Little Creek. We're also the only store in the world authorized to sell CDs and tapes by Drum Corps International. Members of drum and bugle corps have a keen interest in these.''
There's also a lot of Gilbert and Sullivan on the racks.
``My fault, too,'' Deal said with a grin. ``I've met with the Norfolk Savoyards to work with them and let them know it's here, and it does move.''
Deal works with the chain's classical buyer in Durham, N.C., as well as with his store's product manager. It is apparent they give him a free hand.
``Bob's probably the best classical merchandizer in this area,'' said store manager and local artist Ted Liles, who also did the art in the classical department. ``He's gone to our stores in Memphis and Baltimore to help them out, as an in-house consultant. We consider him a treasure here.''
Deal himself finds meeting persons from foreign countries, either visiting or here with NATO, one of the most interesting elements of the job. He can recall customers from England, Germany, France, and Mexico, as well as several performing musicians from Israel.
Not all out-of-town customers come from overseas. On a recent morning, June Anderson of Virginia Beach was browsing with Jack and Millicent Stubbs from Williamsburg.
``We have nothing like this in Williamsburg, although I wish we did,'' said Millicent Stubbs.
Neda Pugh and Diana Stott of Elizabeth City also were shopping. ``We came last week and are back again,'' said Pugh. ``It's a long trip but it's worth it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by DAWSON MILL
``I answered an ad in the paper for a job in a music store. I
thought it was a musical instrument shop. Only at the interview did
I learn that it was a record store,'' says Bob Deal, who added that
he couldn't pass up Planet Music's 4,000-square-foot separate room
for classical music.
by CNB