MARCH 23 I KORG I OBITUARY
Korg Chairman Passes

Korg Chairman Tsutomu Katoh passed away on March 15 after a long battle with cancer.

"Since he founded Korg Inc. in 1963, Katoh has led our company with great talent, vision and leadership," said Seiki Kato, Korg's president. "He was loved and respected by all the employees and Korg family members, and he made a huge contribution to the lives of countless musicians around the world."

"Chairman Katoh was a true visionary and a personal friend, and he will be missed by everyone at Korg and indeed the entire music industry," said Joseph Castronovo, Korg USA president. "Over the past 20 years, I have witnessed firsthand the ways in which Korg has flourished under his and his family's guidance and leadership. His passion and professional goals were one and the same: to provide innovative tools for musicians to help them grow their craft. And those goals remained the same throughout his life and career. He will be deeply missed."

Richard Ash, CEO of Sam Ash Music, remembered Katoh as "one of this industry's true visionaries."

"He managed to always come up with quality, innovative high-tech products in the face of huge competition from much larger companies like Yamaha and Roland," Ash said. "He brought us many iconic, hot-selling products over the years, such as the Polysix, Poly-61, M1, Trinity, Triton, MiniKorg, CX3, and practically invented the tuner business. Mr. Katoh's Korg products have inspired hundreds of thousands of musicians over the years. His legacy will live on for many years to come."

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