Foxes: a music shop for musicians

Dorothy and Ralph "Curly" Fox first opened Foxes Music on January 20th, 1953-- President Eisenhower's Inauguration Day. It began as a Dance Studio and Music School with a small retail operation on the side. Mrs. Fox taught dance classes, while Curly, a local jazz drummer, handled music lessons and instrument sales. Tragically, he died only a year and a half after the store opened, leaving his wife to persevere on her own.

Even though she was not a musician, Mrs. Fox made the hard decision to follow through on their dream. She turned out to be a shrewd businesswoman indeed, who eventually grew Foxes into one of the most respected music stores in the area, with an unparalleled selection of sheet music and a booming school rental business. In 1988, Mrs. Fox sold the business to Jim Edmonds, an entrepreneur with a love of music who had recently retired from the World Bank. Jim decided not only to preserve Mrs. Fox's basic business model, but to expand it dramatically, adding a choral music department, greatly increasing the instrument inventory and moving the store to its present location on South Washington Street in 1993.

in 2006, Jim decided to sell the business to three of his key employees: Eric Wagner and Kevin Landes, his two longtime managers, and Marie DesRosiers, his bookkeeper. This kept the store's continuity unbroken, as Kevin and Eric both started with Mrs. Fox and had managed the shop for decades.

Since buying the business, we have strived to grow our customer base and adapt to a rapidly changing marketplace, while remaining true to Mrs. Fox's original vision: to be an education-oriented business, offering superlative service to the area's music students, educators, and performing arts community.

We feel strongly that independent, locally owned businesses are not only best situated to serve the needs of the region in which they are located, but also form a core part of their community's unique cultural character. We have worked hard over the years to help keep the arts alive and thriving in the greater Northern Virginia area, assisting everyone from pre-school Suzuki students up to symphony orchestra musicians. We extend a heartfelt "thank you" to all of our customers and friends who have supported us these many years! And we hope to be here to serve you for many years to come.