I am Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center. I was born to Chuck and Marge Levin in the year 1958. I was raised, in my younger years, on H St. in Washington, DC. To my friends, I came to be known as “Chuck’s†or “Washington Music Center.†I was small but feisty. I grew strong in my early years and embraced the sounds of my musical friends who came through my doors.
In 1968 I was burned down during the riots of D.C. I wept as I watched my instruments turn to ashes. My dreams of reaching out into this great world of music had been destroyed and lay in a heap of ruins. But not for long; my Dad and Mom moved me to my present location in Wheaton, MD and nurtured me back to health. Soon, I was strong again and the musicians began coming from all over the country to play my instruments. I grew and grew until the stories of my greatness crossed the oceans of the world. Musicians began traveling from distant lands to play my instruments and carry them away to touch the lives of their home countries.
I have been recognized and awarded multitudes of times by the music industry for my vast array of musical instruments and the highly professional expertise of those who have come to make my hallways their home. Many have come through my doors on their way to greatness in their musical fields. Their footsteps echo through my walls in the quiet of the night.
As I grew stronger and reached out farther, the legacy of my Dad and Mom, Chuck and Marge Levin, also grew. Their children, Alan, Abbe and Robert, followed along, helping Dad and Mom to expand and grow my walls to cover “Everything in Musicâ€. Now my reputation had grown to such that generations were gracing my floors and the youth were following in the footsteps of their fathers.
In December of 2002, my Dad passed away and the world I had come to know, stopped. Multitudes came to pay respect to the man, Chuck Levin. The stories of how so many had touched their first instruments through my Dads dream, flowed as a river long and wide. I miss him greatly. When Mom stops by, I embrace her and hold her and she feels the spirit of the past comfort her.
My walls are history. They hold the notes of so many that have played their music through my instruments. The conglomerates have come and tried to oppress my greatness, but they cannot. My foundation has been laid strong and immovable. My influence has reached all the way around the world through the fingers of those who play my instruments. You can go to the circus, into malls, resort parks, concert halls and nightclubs the world over and see my instruments or hear my equipment being used by my friends. My soul is embedded in the very foundation of what music is all about. My spirit flows through the hearts of the musicians who have walked my floors. I am the one and only “Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Centerâ€, come inside and play.