July 30th, 2017

After 35 years of professional piano technician work, I am still a strong advocate of professional development for myself and all my colleagues.  Piano technology is a discipline of life long study and improvement.  I have attended many educational events, and also organize and teach at such events. It’s a vital way to hone our skills, share our knowledge, and strengthen colleagiality among piano technicians. 

The summer, I helped organize a piano technician professional development seminar in Nanaimo on July 30th. We invited Fred Redekop from Winnipeg, a technician for 40 years who has benefitted from specialized concert tech training at Steinway (New York), Yamaha (Hamamatsu) and Bösendorfer (Vienna), among many others.  Using hands-on demonstrations, Fred took us through the steps of thorough regulation and fine voicing that are required to bring an instrument to concert level.  We had 16 piano technicians attend, from all over Vancouver Island, mainland British Columbia, and even Edmonton.   A great day was had by all!

Thanks to the Canadian Association of Piano Technicians’ and the Vancouver Island Chapter of the Piano Tecnician’s Guild for sponsoring this event.  Thanks also to the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music for allowing us to host the event there, and to use their Yamaha Grand Piano.