Colton Sleister began playing trombone at Westwood Elementary taught by Mrs. Rachel Urban. He fell in love with band while practicing and playing the trombone. In the years that followed, he developed as a musician thanks to dedicated band directors and trombone players.

Colton began high school with the goal to audition for Iowa All-State Band and later South Central Iowa (SCIBA) District Honor Band. This put the Sleister family in the market for an F-attachment trombone. After dismissing too-expensive new versions and too-good-to-be-true online used deals, they eventually bought a suitable trombone — but didn’t forget the difficulty of finding affordable used trombones locally.

Colton and his father, Darren, noticed a shortage of used trombones in the Des Moines metro area at both student and professional levels. Colton bought 16 trombones, cleaned them, and brought them back into playing condition. He advertised them to fifth graders and sold 14 of them! This began Sleister Trombones as Colton repaired and sold more used trombones in the following years.

Sleister Trombones became Sleister Brass with the expansion into used trumpets. By this time, Colton had also made the Iowa All-State Band two times on trombone.

Sleister Brass added a repair shop, allowing them to sell more refurbished instruments and offer repair and cleaning services to their customers.

Sleister Brass expanded into selling new instruments from E.K. Blessing, a trusted American brass manufacturer. The father-son partnership changed their name to Sleister Music late in the year to reflect their expansion into clarinets, flutes, and saxophones.

Sleister Music became an official dealer of Buffet Crampon as well as central Iowa's BAC (Best American Craftsmen) Musical Instruments. The rent-to-own program debuted as another way to make getting a quality instrument as easy as possible.

Colton completed his undergraduate degree at Drake University, where he played trombone in the Wind Symphony and studied chemistry, a discipline he applies to Sleister Music to think “differently” than a conventional music store might think!

Sleister Music relocated within Ankeny to our current shop space and store at 2201 W 1st Street. This larger space enables Sleister to efficiently serve more band programs and musicians.

Sleister Music began partnering with schools more directly by offering delivery and pick up. Our road reps visit schools on a regular schedule to make repairs and purchases as easy as possible for directors.

Our building got an 8,000-square-foot expansion. Half of that extension is dedicated to our repairs, making it one of the biggest repair shops in the area.

Sleister Music became an official seller of Yamaha instruments, adding their world-class instruments into the range of high-quality instruments we offer.

Sleister Music is currently pursuing our mission to become the most trusted place for school band programs in central Iowa, where directors, parents, and students can confidently rent, purchase, and repair world-class instruments.