The Turn of the Century
In the late 1890's, George Alfred Peate, a teen-aged mandolin virtuoso, toured North America and Europe as a concert soloist. Although his concert tours were on a different scale from those of a rock mega-star today, he played to sold-out houses and garnered  rave reviews. In 1899, a year after George Gershwin was born, George Peate settled down in Montreal,  put together his life savings of a several hundred dollars and opened a small musical instrument shop. Montreal at the time was a city of gaslit streets and horsedrawn carriages, 
but there was a strong interest in music 
and George Peate's store prospered.

A Commitment to Music
Today, Peate Musical is the oldest family-owned musical instrument distributor  in North America, and a leading wholesaler & agent  in Canada.  Our commitment is to promote participation in music, and Peate Musical works  closely with a nationwide network of full-line and specialty music dealers to  achieve this goal.  Peate Musical is widely recognized as 
the primary source for superlative musical products in Canada.

The Tradition Continues
Peate Musical has witnessed many changes in music, not the least of which 
are the birth of Jazz, the Blues, and of course, the electric guitar. We imagine 
there are many more to come.
The company continues under the stewardship of Richard Peate, 
grandson of  the founder. Together, with our many friends in the music industry, 
we look forward to the challenges of tomorrow.