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<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; There aren&#8217;t too many places where you can rent a piano, take violin lessons or buy a guitar strap adorned with the shape of the double helix all under the same roof.</p><p>Then again, there aren&#8217;t too many places like Andrea Bogusko Music Co., which celebrates its 40th anniversary in business this year.</p><p>The facility&#8217;s namesake and owner, Andrea Bogusko, has kept her family involved in the business throughout those four decades.</p><p>&#8220;My whole family has worked here,&#8221; she said.</p><p>The business, located on Wilkes-Barre Township Boulevard, sells pianos; electric, acoustic and bass guitars; and percussion, brass, woodwind and string instruments.</p><p>The store also has a rental business for pianos and orchestral instruments for students to use while in their school&#8217;s music programs. Bogusko&#8217;s brother-in-law, who she said is &#8220;<em>the </em>delivery man in the area,&#8221; is the one who carefully brings pianos to people&#8217;s doorsteps.</p><p>In addition, the company offers instrument repair services and began dabbling in embroidery a few years ago, which includes custom T-shirts with music-themed graphics, but also orders from businesses with uniform needs. The company with whom the business contracts embroidery services is owned by a relative of the family.</p><p>There are 15 teachers at the school, including Bogusko, and lessons are offered for a variety of instruments ranging from the drums to the violin.</p><p>Bogusko spent two years as a public school music teacher before branching out on her own in 1976 in a small space on Academy Street in South Wilkes-Barre. The business moved to its current location in 1984, where a new building was constructed on property her parents owned. Her father, Al, even helped with plumbing and construction in the three story, 3,500 square-foot facility.</p><p>Her sister, Margo Lukacinsky, serves as manager of the retail side of things, while Bogusko operates the music school. Two other sisters, Anita Sirak and Judy Katra, have served as piano teachers over the years. Sirak also taught voice lessons.</p><p>While Sirak ended up as a teacher under her sister&#8217;s management, it was Sirak&#8217;s interest in music that completely shaped Bogusko&#8217;s life.</p><p>&#8220;My mother would tell me that when my sister Anita was taking piano lessons, I would always be nearby, trying something on the piano,&#8221; said Bogusko. &#8220;Her teacher had an accident and had to stop coming, so I would pretend I was the teacher and I would play and give myself grades. My sister would ask me, &#8216;Why are you practicing? (The teacher is) not coming!&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>Bogusko said she grew up as a very timid child, and music was an outlet for her to express herself.</p><p>&#8220;When I was a youngster I was shy and quiet,&#8221; she said. &#8220;My sister Anita was the outgoing one. You know when you have an older sister, they are the leader &#8230; It took years for me to overcome that.&#8221;</p><p>She earned her bachelor&#8217;s degree in music education at Wilkes University and went on to pursue a master&#8217;s degree at Marywood University and the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University.</p><p>Bogusko has played for small gatherings and as part of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. She serves as president of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Music Teachers&#8217; Association, which holds a contest annually in which students compete to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s one of our most popular programs,&#8221; she said, noting several students at Andrea Bogusko Music Co. have performed there.</p><p>Her experience of gaining confidence through performance is something she hopes to pass on to her students as a music teacher.</p><p>&#8220;We never turn anyone away &#8212; we accept all levels of talent,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Dave DiRisio, a drumming instructor at the school since 1980, said that includes those with special needs. He said he once taught a blind student how to play drums.</p><p>&#8220;There was no Braille music at the time,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I would record the lesson for him. He (took lessons) for a couple years.&#8221;</p><p>After 40 years in business, Bogusko said she has seen generations of students come through her doors, and those students become more like family, too.</p><p>&#8220;My piano teacher, Anne Liva, used to say she felt like a great-grandmother,&#8221; said Bogusko. &#8220;Now I know how she felt. I&#8217;ve taught a mother, her daughter, and her granddaughter.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Andrea Bogusko talks about one of the pianos for sale at Andrea Bogusko Music Co. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121016bogusko2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Andrea Bogusko talks about one of the pianos for sale at Andrea Bogusko Music Co. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121016bogusko3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Aria DeSilva, 16, takes violin lessons from Diane Wojciechowski at Andrea Bogusko Music Co. in Wilkes-Barre Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121016bogusko3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Aria DeSilva, 16, takes violin lessons from Diane Wojciechowski at Andrea Bogusko Music Co. in Wilkes-Barre Township. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121016bogusko4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ella Demellier, 7, takes piano lessons from Jackie Legg at Andrea Bogusko Music Co. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121016bogusko4.jpg</photo2><caption2>Ella Demellier, 7, takes piano lessons from Jackie Legg at Andrea Bogusko Music Co. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121016bogusko5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Along with instruments and lessons, Andrea Bogusko Music Co. sells an assortment of music accessories. The company offers customized embroidery on guitar straps. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121016bogusko5.jpg</photo3><caption3>Along with instruments and lessons, Andrea Bogusko Music Co. sells an assortment of music accessories. The company offers customized embroidery on guitar straps. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121016bogusko1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">From left, owner Andrea Bogusko and her sisters, Judy Katra and store manager Margo Lukacinsky, have been working together at Andrea Bogusko Music Co. on Wilkes-Barre Township Boulevard for decades. The company is celebrating its 40th year in business. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121016bogusko1.jpg</photo4><caption4>From left, owner Andrea Bogusko and her sisters, Judy Katra and store manager Margo Lukacinsky, have been working together at Andrea Bogusko Music Co. on Wilkes-Barre Township Boulevard for decades. The company is celebrating its 40th year in business. </caption4><photoCredit4>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Andrea Bogusko Music Co. celebrates 40 years in business</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Sarah Hite Hando</p><p>shando@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Sarah Hite Hando at 570-704-3945.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Andrea Bogusko Music Co. in Wilkes-Barre Twp. celebrates 40 years in business