Warmest winter wishes to all my piano tuning clients here in Nanaimo, and throughout Vancouver Island!  We are barreling towards the holiday season, and it is evident by looking at my piano tuning schedule which is almost completely full for December.  As always, I’m pleased to tune and repair pianos for private clients, schools, choirs, and more…but the high demand at this time of year makes it imperative that you book early.  I look forward to helping you create harmony for the holidays!

I have had the luck to come across a rare and unusual piano here in Nanaimo, which seems like an early Christmas gift to me.  I had a phone call from someone who knew of a house that was being demolished, and told me there was a piano inside that might be interesting to me.  At the sound of the name “Bechstein”, one of my favorite German piano makers, I immediately made a point of going to see the piano, and then moving it to my workshop.

As it turns out, this piano was built in Germany in 1909 for export to Britain, and from there to be sent to one of the southern British colonies.  At that point they knew that in hot, humid, tropical areas any type of glue that was on a piano would eventually fail, and the joints would come apart.  So anything that would normally be glued together on a regular piano was also screwed or sewn down on this particular model.  This includes key tops screwed on, and little holes drilled in all the interior woodwork and each individual piece of felt (of which there are hundreds) hand-sewn to the wood.  This is an incredible amount of extra work and detail for a piano of this era, and there would only be a limited number made like this. 

The piano would not look too assuming to the average person, but to a piano technician it is a gem of a gift!  What fun.

This fall has been a busy time for piano servicing on Vancouver Island.  I tune and repair pianos for private clients from Shawingan Lake to Parksville, Duncan to Qualicum Beach, and of course here in my home town of Nanaimo.  But what keeps me even busier is all the piano servicing that I do for organizations across Vancouver Island.  There are many private music teaching studios that use my services, as well as church groups, retirement homes, community choirs, and schools and conservatories.  As the fall schedules get into full swing and head towards December performances, my piano tuning business gets busy!  Make sure you book ahead if you want a piano tuning by a specific date each fall. 

For piano services, phone Jurgen at 250-754-2440.

This fall I also return up north for my semi-annual trip to Yellowknife, N.W.T.  I have been tuning, repairing, and servicing pianos in the north for over 16 years now.  Yellowknife has an amazing cultural scene with an incredible amount of music that goes on relative to the size of the town.  I’m honoured to be called back again and again by loyal clients who trust me with their pianos and want to make sure they are in the best shape for the long winter of music making that awaits!  In 2016 I will be in Yellowknife from October 19th-30th, so Piano Forte Service in Nanaimo will be closed during that period. 

August 2016:

Summer is a beautiful time to travel all over Vancouver Island.  As a piano technician, I am lucky to visit some of the most wonderful areas of the island while servicing and repairing pianos.  Summer sees me tuning pianos from Mill Bay to Shawinigan Lake, from Duncan to Qualicum. 

One of my favorite places to go for any reason is Hornby Island.  I am honored to be the piano technician for the Hornby Music Festival, whick takes place in August every year.  This year, I was tuning and preparing the concert grand piano for a classical solo piano concert by the Ukranian pianist Stanislav Khristenko.  He wowed the sold-out Hornby Hall audience with a performance of piano pieces from the Romantic Era. 

For more information on the Hornby Island Festival:  https://hornbyfestival.com/

Another fun piano project in the summer is the street pianos available for public use.  This year, there were two pianos placed outdoors near the waterfront in Nanaimo.   Port Alberni also had a public waterfront piano this year, and I was happy to service and tune these pianos.  It’s a fun way to give back to the community, since many people love wandering by to play these pianos.  

Lastly, I was so lucky again to have a chance to visit Nuchatlitz, a magical area off the west coast of Vancouver Island near the northern tip of Nootka Island.  There is a man who has homesteaded out on an island in the middle of this stunning wilderness area, and he has a piano that he brought out there a number of years ago.  This was my second trip there…for more about this remote piano tuning adventure, see my story called “Adventures on the West Coast: Piano Tuning in Nuchatlitz” from four years ago. 

Happy Summer!

June & July 2016: 

The world of piano technicians is a small one.  One of the wonderful things about being a piano technician is that over the years I have been able to build relationships with colleagues from near and far.  These friendships include some of the best trained technicians around the world, including experienced piano rebuilders, designers, and innovators.  This summer I was honoured to host some great piano technicians here on Vancouver Island.  My friends were delighted to visit Nanaimo, the majestic trees, the ocean views, and the wonderful trails and scenery.

My good friend Dale Erwin visited in June 2016.  He is a master piano rebuilder based in Modesto, California.  Check out his beautiful work at Erwinspiano.com.
Dale was also accompanied by Paul Robinson, a piano rebuilder based in San Diego, California.
Here he is at work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAadBoyo8r8

And later in July, I was delighted to host a world-class piano designer, Arno Patin.  Arno was originally trained in Europe as I was, but now makes his home in Portland Oregon.  He has recently custom designed and build a full-size concert grand piano – there is no other one like it in the world.  What a beautiful piano!

It is always inspiring for me as a piano tuner and technician to associate with colleagues I admire and respect.

May 2016; 

It’s time for my semi-annual trip to the north, leaving the spring beauty of Vancouver Island to fly to Yellowknife in Northwest Territories of Canada.  What does a piano technician do in Yellowknife, you may ask?  Well, you’d be suprised how many pianos there are in these northern communities…the residents surround themselves with music and arts as one way to pass the long winters.  I’ve been travelling to Yellowknife to tune and repair pianos for close to 16 years now, and there’s always a bit more adventure waiting for me up there.

This year, I had to go service a piano that was in a houseboat out on the lake.  Normally, access to the house-boat is pretty straight forward…the residents canoe there in the summer, and drive their vehicles across the very thick ice in the winter.  But in May, it’s a bit more of a challenge.  The ice is rotting from below, and although one can still walk on it, it can be very dangerous because it can break up at any instant.  So the means of getting there for these spring weeks involves strapping on a life jacket, holding onto the side of a canoe and then carefully shuffling across the ice, hoping it won’t break up and I won’t fall through! 

After that…servicing the piano seems easy!  For more about my Yellowknife piano servicing trips, see my story called “Tuning North of 60 degrees Lattitude” on my website.

February 2016: It’s the beginning of spring all up and down Vancouver Island – from Qualicum Beach to Nanaimo to Duncan, and everywhere in between.

The days are getting longer, the flowers are coming up, and spring is in the air.  So many piano clients are preparing for a musical spring – whether it is upcoming piano recitals, music festivals, or church or choir concerts.  March, April and May are very busy months for piano tuning and technician work.  So, if your piano needs some repairs or tweaking, this is a reminder not to wait until the last minute this spring.  Book now for repairs and technical work so that the piano has time to settle into it’s new more efficient self before your spring performance. 

Encouraging harmony in our little corner of the universe…one piano at a time!

Piano tuning and servicing is available in Mill Bay, Shawigan Lake, Cowichan Valley, Chemainus, Ladysmith, Nanaimo, Parksville, Qualicum Beach…and all the little places in between!  Please phone 250-754-2440 for more information,

I would like to wish the best of the season to all my piano clients.  I have been tuning and repairing pianos on Vancouver Island for over 25 years, and I deeply value all the wonderful clients I’ve come to know and the relationships I’ve built up over the years. I hope you all can enjoy health and happiness throughout the holiday season, and time to enjoy music and harmony with loved ones.

Piano Forte Service will be closed from December 18th, 2015 until January 3rd, 2016, as I take some extra time to spend with family and friends. 

Piano servicing for central Vancouver Island will resume in January – don’t hesitate to call for more information, 250-754-2440.

It’s been a busy fall season for Piano Forte Service.  September holds the regular “back to school” rush of tuning and servicing pianos all over central Vancouver Island for music schools, piano studios, fall concert series and piano students.  Then each year I complete a 2 week trip to Yellowknife, in the far north, in which I am always over- booked to tune and repair the pianos for that artistic community.  By the time I get back and get caught up, we’re already into the pre-holiday rush on piano servicing.

This year, Piano Forte Service will be shut down from December 18th until January 5th.  This means – believe it or not – there are only 4 1/2 weeks left to book your piano tuning before the holidays.  For all the churches, concert series, schools, and individuals that like to have their pianos tuned before their winter concert – please contact me soon to book your time. 

Piano tuning and servicing is available in Mill Bay, Shawigan Lake, Duncan, Chemainus, Ladysmith, Nanaimo, Parksville, Qualicum Beach…and all the little places in between!  Please phone 250-754-2440 for more information,

Once again, it’s that time of year for Piano Forte Service.

On October 26th I’ll be off to Yellowknife, North West Territories, to do 2 weeks of intensive piano work in the north.  I have been going to Yellowknife for 15 years now, servicing and repairing pianos there for a whole range of customers.  I build my service on in-depth expertise and training, high-quality work, and word-of-mouth referrals from happy clients. Every year in Yellowknife I have more work than I can possibly fit into one trip!  There are many great artists and arts organizations in the north who take advantage of long winters to make music, build community, and have a lot of fun…so my clientelle covers a huge range, from individuals to churches, schools, music teachers, and public performance pianos. 

Intrigued?  Read my article: “Tuning North of 60 degrees”.

If you live in Yellowknife, make sure you are on my contact list if you would like to book time piano work during my fall trip.

Please note that all piano service in Nanaimo, Parksville, Qualicum, Ladysmith, Chemainus, Duncan, Cowichan and Shawinigan lake will be on hold from October 24th to November 9th.