Atwood Cochran was a music teacher in Grantville. He taught at the junior high school and had a studio where he gave lessons in guitar and banjo. He also had a weekly program on the Voice of America called Adventures in Great Music. It was this program which led Giouan Battista Veraldi, who he called "John", to seek him out and become his student. In later years, he would actually have a school, as Veraldi would periodically return and bring other students with him.