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I am 56 years old and I have been a piano technician since I was 22. Fresh out of college I worked as a social worker for a year. Realizing that social work was not for me I began studying to be a piano technician. I was fortunate to find an old school tuner by the name of Arthur Abrams who was willing to teach me. After apprenticing with Mr. Abrams fo two years I was hired by a piano technician by the name of Bill Boxer. With Mr. Boxer I gained experience in piano refinishing, sound board repairs, stringing, action repairs and regulation. It was a great learning experience because the pianos we worked on were uniformly very old and damaged. After a couple of years with Mr. Boxer, I went out to tune on my own behalf. I was fortunate to find a large piano store chain to work with. Over a period of years Jack Kahn Pianos sent me thousands of clients. I also worked with White Plains Piano and Organ Co. and Westchester Piano and Organ Co. The clients I gained from these stores were the core group of my tuning customers.
As time passed I got married and then became a father. This added responsibility encouraged me to expand my piano horizons. I began importing pianos by the container from Japan. This lead me to gain contacts in the world of piano sales and piano restoration. Again I was fortunate enough to find mentors such as Fred Hitchcock, who is the piano technician for the Lincoln Center ballet, and Angelo Andino, who was a Steinway sound board man before going off into his own business. These persons, among others, encouraged me to go into the piano restoration business. After a very steep learning curve, I am the proprietor of a rebuilding shop that is the equal of the best any where. I have a great bunch of guys to work with. Each is a well known specialist in his field. My clients now are professional musicians, top piano technicians, universities, piano teachers, as well as people from all walks of life who love pianos. I also maintain a show room that has at least two Steinway grands of each model, and one Mason and Hamlin grand of each model. The pianos we sell are very beautiful, and we manage o keep improving.
