David Highsmith, 54, owner of Opus 1 Music, a Decatur landmark for more than 50 years, died suddenly Tuesday, according to several colleagues.
Karen Becka Zgonc, of the Decatur Music Teachers Association, has written about Highsmith, “A passionate Bach lover and staunch advocate for comprehensive music study in the public school curriculum, David touched the lives of many through his dedication to the music community, his warm spirit, and his unwavering commitment to fostering a love for the arts.”
Highsmith was in his shop, according to Zgonc, when he suffered a heart attack. He was working to empty the downtown Decatur store, which held thousands of pages of sheet music, and hundreds of books of bound notation. His inventory featured music by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and other classical and popular composers, arranged for piano and for small and large ensembles.
The shop opened in 1971. Highsmith and his mother bought it in 2001, and dramatically expanded the inventory. The growth of online sales made running the unique retail outlet unprofitable, and Highsmith gave up the lease on the property last month.
In a profile that ran in January, he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he would be looking for another location, but he acknowledged that the odds were stacked against a sheet music store surviving.
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