Denver’s Kolacny Music epitomizes the spirit of…
…the Colorado Music Hall of Fame’s Community Impact Awards. Indeed, the store may have aided, facilitated and inspired more musicians in the state than any other retailer over nearly a century of existence.
Owner David Kolacny said of the honor: “It’s always nice to be appreciated. We were around for a long time.”
“We’re incredibly proud that we lasted 93 years,” added Debbie Kolacny, David’s wife, who managed the financial end of the outlet. “Not many multi-generational businesses last that long.”
The Kolacny clan originally hailed from Czechoslovakia.
David’s grandfather William ultimately immigrated to the United States and ran a small music store in Goodwin, Kansas, before moving to Denver and being hired to work at the repair shop of a large downtown instrument purveyor. That retailer went bankrupt in 1930, during the deadly first wave of the Great Depression. But rather than being cowed by his employer’s sad fate, William boldly launched a repair operation of his own that same year.
With the help of his wife Geraldine, who he met at an Englewood church (she played the piano during services, while he handled the saxophone), William braved the ill economic winds of the era with aplomb — and he soon supplemented his services to include instruments for sale. He was fond of saying that he’d rather make a friend than a dollar, and because of this gracious philosophy, he made more than his fair share of both.
For a time, Kolacny Music occupied the entire floor of a building, complete with spaces for music teachers and craftspeople. But the enterprise finally settled on South Broadway, and during the 1950s, it grew to encompass other storefronts on the block.
Over time, William passed the store down to David’s father, Richard…
…with his mother Bettie making contributions, too. David began working there as a junior-highschooler, learning to repair a wide variety of fretted string instruments — and he got even more involved after training in Chicago to fix harps. For years, he was the only harp technician between the Midwest and Los Angeles.
When David became the Kolacny Music owner, the family affair continued. At one point, the office staff included his wife, his mother, his sister Donna and his mother-in-law Shirley.
Professional musicians flocked to Kolacny Music for tuneups, but over time, the store directed much of its focus toward music programs at schools. Parents from all over greater Denver regularly visited the South Broadway location to rent instruments for their kids, and store personnel also traveled to schools elsewhere in Colorado to make horns, violins and the like available to even more budding players.
On top of that, Kolacny Music provided instruments…
…and repairs at events for marching bands, often presented under the auspices of the Colorado Honor Band Program (later rebranded Colorado Youth Bands). The Kolacnys’ dedication to this cause led both David and Debbie to serve on the Colorado Honor Band Program board of directors.
Outreach to schools was expensive, and cuts in music courses at budget-squeezed institutions further raised costs, since Kolacny Music personnel had to travel further afield to reach pupils in need. More band programs ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, worsening the bottom line.
The store’s 2023 closure unleashed a flood of nostalgia and affection from the untold thousands of folks who’d passed through its doors. Afterward, David maintained his connection to his vocation by way of Harps Nouveau, a publishing company launched in 1996. He still offers harp repair, too, and the sideline kept him in contact with some of the Coloradans whose lives were immeasurably enhanced by the almost century of Kolacny Music.
By Michael Roberts
