Meisel Music shut down its operations on Aug. 22 after reportedly being unable to fulfill its debts to creditors.

In a letter issued by the company’s lawyer, Scott Rever of Wasserman, Jurista & Stolz, it said that reduced budgets for school music programs caused a “precipitous drop” in the Meisel’s sales. The company’s assets will be liquidated.

“Management has taken every conceivable step to minimize expenses and increase sales,” Rever said in the letter, which went to Meisel’s creditors and vendors. “Unfortunately, despite those efforts, management was forced to conclude that there was no reasonable prospect for future profitability of the business. The demise of this family owned business has taken a tremendous emotional and physical toll on the management.”

“Product just wasn’t selling,” said Neil Lilien, president of Meisel Music. “And it’s not like we didn’t work extremely hard. We did.”

The assets of Meisel are subject to a lien held by the company’s lender, Wachovia Bank. The letter said that the company does not have funds to pay unsecured trade creditor claims.

meiselmusic.com