CARY -- On a chilly Saturday afternoon, Harold Burt beams as 12-year-old Sarah Zisek bursts into his cozy corner office.
It's been a slow day at Burt's Music Co., one of Cary's oldest music shops, where Burt has spent nearly a quarter century selling everything from clarinets to pianos to kazoos.
It's also where the 86-year-old Burt, a former band director at schools in Wake and Johnston counties, and a team of singers, songwriters and music teachers have spent decades passing on their craft to next generations.
But after 23 years in business at the Shoppes of Kildaire, at Cary Parkway and Kildaire Farm Road, Burt is preparing to close one of the longest and most significant chapters of his life.
A combination of factors - a sluggish economy and fierce competition from big-box and online retailers such as Guitar Center, Sam Ash and amazon.com - has proved to be too much to handle for a traditional mom-and-pop operation like Burt's Music.
Burt reluctantly acknowledges his plans to close the store, which has been losing money and customers for several years, sometime in 2011.
With it will fade the private music studio where Burt and others have given hundreds of willing learners their first taste of music.
"It was a hard decision," Burt said. "Every teacher I know looks forward to retirement, but not me. I've tried to hold on."
In the months that remain, Burt insists he'll soldier on, especially for the sake of those students who continue to hone their skills here. Friends and customers alike say it's a sign of Burt's determination, passion and commitment.
"He's in his own world of true dedication to the welfare of music," said Jerry McLendon, who has known the Burt family for years and teaches at the shop.
Before his student's arrival on a recent Saturday, Burt spent much of the morning planning for his afternoon music lessons and tidying his store.
It's when he has a budding musician like Sarah by his side, though, that Burt seems most at ease.
Sarah, who began playing saxophone a few years ago, recently added a second instrument to her repertoire: French horn. As she warmed up on a few Christmas songs, Burt - long known for his commitment to learn each of the instruments played by his students - matched her note for note.
McLendon, who now lives in Myrtle Beach, said building a love for music in others has always been at the heart of Burt's career. "Mr. Burt is one of the most dedicated people in the education of people and helping them enjoy music to the fullest," he said.
A lifelong dedication
The son of a school principal and a longtime piano teacher, Burt says his musical roots can be traced to an early age. But it was in high school, where his brother was the band director, that his appreciation for music and education blossomed.
"He arranged for me later on to teach a few students on the clarinet," Burt recalled.
Those first lessons led to a storied career in public schools. In 1950, at age 26, Burt joined the staff of Cary High School. But at the time, music teachers were not included on the state's payroll, so Burt was officially hired to teach industrial arts.
He could spend only one-third of his day teaching music. The remaining two-thirds was spent teaching shop.
Although band classes had been taught on and off at Cary, there were only 12 students with instruments that fall - and only two of them could play. Under Burt's direction, however, the band doubled in size and began to make appearances at football games.
He stayed full time at Cary for five years then taught part time at area schools such as Cary, Apex, Millbrook and Knightdale. He bought his first music store in Cameron Village, E.R. Poole Music Co., when he retired from the school system in 1979.
"I just felt like I had reached the time of retirement," Burt said. "I just kind of had the thought that if you feel like you're not doing your best work in the public schools anymore, then you should do something else."
In 1988, Burt moved his store to Cary, where he also opened the Burt School of Music. Since then, he has maintained a cast of about 20 instructors at the school who have taught students to play piano, guitar and band and orchestra instruments.
"The teaching of music has always been his first love," said Michael Hudson, whose wife has taught music alongside Burt for years. "That's what has always made him unique and special is that he always put the love of teaching and education of music first, before profit or the selling of instruments."
But love itself hasn't been strong enough to counter falling sales. So about two years ago, Burt made the painful decision to move his shop into what once was storage space.
Burt Music Co. is still at the Shoppes of Kildaire. But customers have to look to find it.
The current store takes up about 500 square feet of a 2,500-square-foot space behind the old store - a spot that he once used for storage. The rest of the space is used for music lessons.
Cuts didn't work
Burt had hoped that scaling back his operation would save it. He got rid of most of the professional caliber instruments because they are harder to sell. He also stopped carrying "personality books," which focus on the music of one particular artist. And he put off hiring new staff.
But while he insists in one breath that, "the move back here hasn't hurt us that much," he points out that, "the change is just not working out."
Teachers, parents and students who have passed through Burt's store and his studios say they'll miss the homey setting and the atmosphere.
"The personal relationships - that's what this place has always been about, and that's what's going to go along with it," said Ken Wiegand, who began teaching guitar and voice lessons here 15 years ago. "That part, to me, is the mystique of this place."
But most of all, they'll miss spending time with "Mr. Burt."
"He has been a godsend for us because he has so much experience with kids and with band," said Lisa Miller, whose daughters, Rachel, 13, and Emily, 11, take music lessons from him.
"To me, his lasting legacy will be that he's given a little piece of himself to every child he's ever taught. So now, rather than just being 'Mr. Burt,' he's a part of all those people he's taught over the 50-plus years he's been doing this."
