Alfred Harding Yopp, Wilmington musician, music teacher, composer and businessman, began his music career as a teenager, when his parents arranged for music lessons in an effort to steer him away from a career as a machinist. After three years of tutelage by Miss Cannie Chasten, Yopp enrolled in the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied piano, organ and composition. Upon his return to Wilmington in 1897, he began his career as music teacher and church organist.

Yopp served as organist for Temple of Israel Synagogue for over twenty years, and also served lengthy stints as church organist for local Baptist, Presbyterian, and Episcopalian churches. He composed a Sabbath service for the Temple in Hebrew, as well as music ranging from secular rag time to sacred hymns and choral works. He also played in the orchestra at Thalian Hall and performed in concerts.

In 1915, he and Thomas R. Woody launched their piano store. Yopp was an aggressive business man and by the next year was able to buy out his partner and form the Yopp Piano Company. The business later expanded to include organs, sheet music, and records and tapes, and through Yopp's astute management, weathered the economic ups and downs of pre-World War II America. At the same time, Yopp maintained an active interest in music composition and performance, an interest which lasted through out his 96 year life.

Note written by Patricia B. McGee