Virtual museum created to preserve New England’s greatest musical artists

BOSTON – From the power chords of Aerosmith to the jazz beats of Roy Haynes and the funky dance rhythms of the Tavares, New England has been home to a diverse and vibrant music scene for decades.\nUntil recently, however, there has never been a single repository for that musical history.\nA few men with deep roots in the region’s music scene have set up a Web site to celebrate some of the area’s greatest artists. Their goal is to one day open a brick and mortar museum.\n“We want to preserve all of this rich musical history,” said Harry Sandler, one of the founders of the Music Museum of New England and drummer for the 1960s band Orpheus. “We’re doing it for the love of music.”\nSandler, now the vice president of a speakers’ booking agency who’s still performing with some original members of Orpheus, has been a part of Boston’s music scene for more than four decades. His first band opened for the Rolling Stones when they played the Manning Bowl in Lynn in 1966. Orpheus played with Cream, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin and The Who, among others.\nHe’s known Steve Nelson since the ’60s when Nelson was manager of the legendary Boston Tea Party concert venue.\nSandler and Nelson, along with friends Michael Fondo and Gary Sohmers – an expert on pop-culture collectibles – came up with the idea for the museum.