Barbara Hempen Kirby

Barbara was born September 25, 1932. She was an only child in a lower income family in Ohio. Her mother was a stay-at-home Mom, and her father was a coal miner. She was an only child. From an early age her musical talents were apparent. As a child her father would take her to clubs to sing and perform. She attended Ohio State University for one year. Later, while working in a club as a singer with a Big Band, she met and married an Air Force Officer. They were married for 5 years and during that time they had two sons, Ryan and Rod. After they divorced, she married another Air Force Officer. During their marriage they lived in France, California, Indiana and Georgia. They divorced in 1977 after he left her for another woman. He left her with no money and a lot of debt. She was devastated having never really worked except for singing with a band and she struggled to know what to do. However, much to her credit and her “Can Do” spirit, she drew on her love of music and went to work selling Yamaha pianos for Jim Scott Music. It didn’t take long for her to turn things around for herself. She played the piano by ear her whole life and used her magnetic personality and beautiful voice to help her consistently become the top salesperson in the company. Soon she was the Manager of the store and quickly became known in the Atlanta music community. Eventually, Barbara wanted to have her own store and she set her sites on Steinway and Sons. She won them over and in the early 80’s The Piano Gallery became Atlanta’s only authorized new and used Steinway dealer. Barbara then decided more people needed to be exposed to the joys of music and concentrated her efforts on developing long term, successful relationships with such venerable institutions as The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Kennesaw University, Spivey Hall and GA State University, just to name a few. She founded The Atlanta Steinway Society, an all-volunteer organization devoted to recognizing and raising money for musical scholarships for young artist through benefit concerts. Several of the most well attended concerts, “Pianorama” were held at the Fox Theatre and had such well-known attendees as former US President Jimmy Carter and Chick fila founder, Truitt Cathy. After the success of The Steinway Society, Steinway asked Barbara to travel to several other dealerships to help educate them on how to create similar organizations in their states. Barbara sold her company to Jordan Kitts Music and retired in early 2000. As a tribute to her success, Jordan Kitts Music kept the name of the store with the exception of adding Steinway to the name. They created a special venue for small concerts and named it “The Barbara Kirby Recital Hall”. Even with her busy career, Barbara was always involved with other charities, especially charities benefiting local children. As a volunteer at Scottish Rite Hospital, her vivacious personality and drive lead to her being asked to join the Board of Directors. She was instrumental in bringing The Ronald McDonald House to the Scottish Rite campus. She has four grandsons (Lance and Zach - Rod’s children, Jacob and Arthur - Ryan’s children), two great-granddaughters (Ella & Avery – Lance’s children) and one great-grandson (James – Jacob’s child). Her son, Rod, and his family live very close to The Phoenix of Braselton and like to visit often.