Walk into any Alamo Music Center store and you will be amazed at the immediate attention you receive. Alamo Music Center was started in 1929 by Alfredo Flores Sr. What started as little more than a way to survive the depression is now the largest music store in San Antonio. Alamo Music has expanded over the years to fit the needs of the musician. A lot has changed since our humble beginnings on the front porch of a 1929 San Antonio home, but there is one aspect the company refuses to let go of: devotion to the customer. At Alamo Music Center stores, we have a firm belief that the focus should be on the customer and their needs, because "life is more fun when you play music"!
Whether you want an antique piano, or the newest in modern synthesizers, electric guitars, and home audio systems, Alamo Music Center has the equipment, employees, and service that will make you confident in your decision. We have the capability to do business worldwide, so our customers can work with any company, no matter where they are. At Alamo Music Center, our staff is devoted to serving the customer and our company. In fact, many of our employees have been with the us for over fourteen years. You can always find a familiar and friendly face in our stores.
Alamo Music has extensive experience in pianos and keyboards. We carry some of the finest pianos made, including Baldwin, Yamaha, Steinway, Chickering, Wurlitzer and more. We also carry the top band and orchestra brands, including Selmer, Conn, Glaesel and Cof. Alamo Music is a full time Dealership. We are a full service music store with extensive electronics, band instuments, guitars, accessories, pianos, rentals and service centers.
Our Government Sales division is a certified government contractor and has been for over ten years. It is an area devoted to selling musical instruments and audio/video products to various government entities, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, the General Services Administration (GSA), Veterans' Hospitals and many others. Our full EDI capabilities and recent VAN link enable us to process requests for orders around the world with the utmost in efficiency.
Alamo Music Center prides itself on being a family business. Mr. Flores Sr.'s son and daughter are the current leaders of the company. This new generation still firmly believes in keeping the focus on the customer. Since Alamo Music Center's start in 1929, the company has been actively involved in community and music industry projects. Both leaders of Alamo Music Center have taken an active role in the community, sitting on boards such as The Arts and Cultural Board, The San Antonio Downtown Improvement District Council, National Association of Music Merchants, American Music Conference, University of Texas at San Antonio Fine Arts Advisory Board and many others. Alfredo Flores Jr., as past president of the National Association of Music Merchants (1985-1987), has a continued link to national activities of the music industry. He is called on to consult on major issues facing music education, music research and music marketing.
Alamo Music Center has a firm belief that music is for everyone and our love for it will never die out. As Alfredo Flores Sr. recalled of the depression, "Even in the country's most trying times, music and art flourished. It was and will always serve as a form of expression and entertainment". It is these two things that will continue to keep people interested in music, as long as there is a genuine interest in music, Alamo Music Center will serve the world with the finest equipment and service it has to offer.
Alfredo Flores was born in Mexico in 1908 and moved to San Antonio, Texas with his mother and grandmother when he was a small boy. He took several jobs as a young man including a position with the Thomas Goggan piano company. His experience with the piano company provided Mr. Flores with the idea and contacts to open his own business. Alamo Music Exchange was formed in 1929, just months before the stock market crash. The store was able to withstand the Great Depression due to Mr. Flores’ dedication to customer service. Over the years the store grew in size and reputation, leading to expansion and a new building in the 1960s. That decade also saw his son, Alfredo Flores Jr., and his daughter join the business. During his 2009 interview, when Mr. Flores was 100 years old, he remarked on how proud he was to have been in the music business and how proud he was of his family for keeping the family business running.
Alfredo Flores Jr. proudly took over the music store his father established in 1928. Alamo Music Center in San Antonio, Texas, has long been established as a focal point for music making in the area. Under Alfredo Flores Jr’s leadership, the product lines have increased as well as the store’s community and industry involvement. In fact he served on the NAMM Board for many years including the role as president from 1985 to 1987. Alfredo also played a vital role in capturing some of his father’s stories for the NAMM Oral History in 2009 when he sat next to his father, who at the age of 100 spoke of his life in music.