Sonoma Valley Music closes retail business

Sonoma Valley Music is going out of the retail, rental and repair business.

But owners Gerard and Mary Serafini are going to concentrate on both audio and video production. The couple hasn’t decided whether or not they’ll keep the Sonoma Valley Music name.

“It’s time to make a change and we are glad that we are able to move some of our services locally, so the Valley can still benefit,” said Gerard Serafini. “Basically, we are going to have clients – not customers. How this will all play out and form remains to be seen.”

The Serafinis have owned the store for more than nine years, the majority of that time in a downtown location just off the Plaza. They moved the store to a smaller space a mile south of the Plaza just about two years ago. They purchased the store in 2005 from Klein’s Sonoma Music owners, Steve Klein, Ed Dufault and Lin Marie DeVincent. Prior to their opening, Sonoma’s go-to music store had been Ruggles Music on the Plaza.

Gerard Serafini said that with school starting this week, parents should know that all band instrument rentals are now being rented through Sonoma Music Arts School on the corner of West MacArthur and Broadway. The school will also handle amplifier repair and all the guitar repairs that Sonoma Valley Music offered from Luthier Sean Gosselin.

He said it will be seamless for the repair and rental customers with similar drop-off and pickup times – only in a different location. “This gives Aldo Mosca, owner and operator of the school, an opportunity to expand the awareness of his services,” he added.

Together, the Serafinis have years of combined music, audio and film industry experience and have an extensive client and credit list to their name.

They will be focusing on their original business plan of many years ago by narrowing jobs to production related clients, sound services, music performance and bookings. Music recording, video editing, and other off-site production services will be available.