Elliot Polsky

The best way to describe what I do at Groove Masters is - some of everything. It's a very small import/wholesale company specializing in Percussion instruments from around the world. A sampling of what a typical day may include: Sales, Warehousing, Shipping/Receiving, Customer Service, Product Procurement, Billing, Deliveries, Webmaster, Maintain our Amazon Store, Off site Drumming workshops, Instrument Repairs. It's truly a "jack of all trades" position.

I am honoured to have a network of musicians and bands that I've performed and made recordings with, in over 20 years as a professional musician. Some of the artists I've worked and continue to work with include: Melanie Dekker, Leela Gilday, Pacifika, the Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir, Jim Byrnes, Steve Dawson, Zubot and Dawson, Kelly-Joe Phelps, Alpha Yaya Diallo, Ache Brasil, Pascale Goodrich-Black and much freelance work. I advocate for music education and have taught drums and percussion to many students of all ages since I was 19 years old. I've worked with students to help prepare them for credential examinations and/or college/university preparation. I have been a dance accompanist for professional and children's dance classes. As a self-employed musician, I am entrepreneurial: negotiating and securing contracts for my services, tours and casual freelance work; Marketing myself using traditional and social media platforms. I work extensively on maintaining and improving my skill set with dedicated practise and self-guided learning.

I establish and maintain contact with local school music directors and other heads of musical organizations within a defined territory. I must be aware of local school markets including, district buying requirements, public and private school requirements, parent groups, community groups and church bands. I serve as a resource for teachers by providing solutions to problems using the vast resources available from Long & McQuade. Where required, I'll initiate, coordinate and run instrument rental events and recruitment sessions at schools. I maintain a schedule outlining my accounts showing frequency of visits as appropriate andreport key activities (upcoming purchases, rentals, competition) to the relevant Manager. I advocate for music education to administrators when appropriate, attend provincial music educator conferences and school music festivals. I assist teachers by organizing clinics and workshops for their students, and negotiate sponsorships by suppliers for them. I prepare sales quotations for teachers, schools and districts as requested.As Long & McQuade sells a huge variety of product groups, part of my time is spent researching products and keeping abreast of technological developments that relate to school markets. I also keep current on competitor's activities in my territory as it relates to competitive school business.

I managed an independent Musical Instrument retailer in Vancouver, British Columbia. Prussin Music has a long and proud reputation for providing an excellent customer service experience: I manage 14 full and part-time employees, and oversee all daily operations. The business is primarily community based and has 20 lesson studios, 40 teachers on contract, and over 500 students enrolled. Prussin Music offers band, orchestra and acoustic fretted instruments and their accessories for sales, rentals and repairs. We also provide to schools, institutions and other music industry professionals throughout Greater Vancouver. I am responsible for inventory control, product procurement and all purchasing duties, including vendor relations. As the primary point of contact for the store's various suppliers and manufacturers, I am responsible for negotiating purchasing terms and agreements, and representing the business'​ interests to our suppliers. I oversee staff, and provide leadership, guidance and training as required. I am the primary point of contact for all institutional-related customers - preparing quotes and bids, and providing expert sales and customer service support. As an independent business, my role as manager includes being hands-on in all aspects of a retail business operations, including marketing, advertising, merchandising, attending trade shows and industry events to promote and boost our profile in the community. My role includes overseeing the owner's interests and vision for the business, along with providing my own vision, experience and leadership.

Private instructor of Drum Set and Hand percussion to school-age and adult students.

Private instruction provided to youth and adults

Being small Distributor and Research & Development facility, I had to wear many hats while working with the legendary Drumsmith/Inventor Ray Ayotte. As the Canadian distributor, I handled sales and customer service enquiries from our various Retail Dealers - Procuring and negotiating dealership contracts with appropriate Music Retail outlets throughout Canada. I was a primary point of contact for Artist Relations for endorsers of Taye Drums worldwide. This task involved assessing all applications for endorsements and initiating agreements as deemed appropriate. I would often be called upon to provide logistical support through communications and product placement with Backline companies around the world - ensuring that Taye Drum Artists had access to the appropriate instruments as required during tours and special events. Logistical support was one of my main responsibilities as it frequently became necessary for our warehouse to provide backline instruments to destinations not otherwise served by instrument rental companies. Under guidance of the company President, I was very involved in planning trade show exhibits in partnership with the Taye USA headquarters for global music-industry trade shows including NAMM and MusikMesse. I represented Taye at these various trade shows, meeting with prospective and current dealers to promote and sell the brand and its features, assist in negotiating distributor agreements and act as a brand ambassador to other manufacturers I was part of a team that developed and planned many new products and innovations for the company. Along with Ray Ayotte, I co-developed the very successful, portable 'Go-Kit'. I oversaw production, sales and distribution of a proprietary line of Taye Snare Drums made from hand cut, solid-maple shells. Procurement and inventory control for all the parts required to build the instruments. Working with other employees to ensure production flowed smoothly and that delays in production were avoided.