Andre Laplante will be performing two concerts at the Hornby Island Summer Music Festival in August 2014.  He is known as one of the world’s great pianists, and we are so lucky to have him coming to British Columbia and especially this beautiful gulf island off the coast of Vancouver Island.

I have the great honour to be the piano technician for Andre’s two upcoming performances, tuning and preparing the Bechstein grand piano at the Hornby Community Hall.  He will be performing solo piano music on August 7th, 2014, and chamber music with the Enso String Quartet on August 9th, 2014.  Both performances are at 8:00pm.  For more information, go to:
www.hornbyislandmusic.bc.ca

Here’s a review of an Andre Laplante performance:

Via Salzburg Chamber Orchestra – Mayumi Seiler, artistic director
Mozart Piano Concerto in A major, K. 414

“…bone deep musical sensibility; a perfection of detail in the meaningful context of the whole. Nothing, neglected, nothing inflated, and everything brimming with life….I am in no doubt he (Laplante) is among the master pianists.”   

Ken Winters, The Globe and Mail, 2006

For more information about Andre Laplante: www.andrelaplante.com

It’s coming soon!  The Hornby Island Summer Music Festival is fast approaching, and I am honoured to be the regular piano technician for this wonderful arts event.  Every year I take a week off from my local piano work in the Nanaimo and central Vancouver Island area to travel to this beautiful British Columbian gulf island. This renowned annual summer music festival hosts different international artists – folk, pop, classical and more.  For more information about the festival, please go to www.hornbyfestival.bc.ca

In addition to tuning the concert grand piano for the classical programs, I also service pianos for multiple private clients on Hornby Island.  This year I will be on the island from August 5-10th, 2014.  Please contact me to book an appointment for piano technician work.

Although I have been servicing, repairing, and tuning pianos for over thirty years, I believe being a piano technician is a process of life-long learning.  As part of my commitment to provide highest quality piano work to all my clients on Vancouver Island, I regularly participate in professional development opportunities.  This includes the recent Canadian Association of Piano Technicians (CAPT) convention held in Kelowna, May 22-25, 2014. 

During these few days away from Nanaimo and my regular piano tuning work, I enjoyed meeting and socializing with piano technicians from across Canada.  I participated in workshops, sold some of my specialty piano technician tools and supplies, and expanded my professional network.  I look forward to the next Canadian convention in Quebec City!

One of the wonderful things about being a piano technician is that I get to tune and service pianos in so many different places and contexts.  I enjoy tuning pianos for private clients all over central Vancouver Island – from Mill Bay, through Duncan, Shawinigan Lake, Nanaimo, Parksville, Qualicum Beach, and sometimes up to Port Alberni, Courtenay, and Comox.  I also love the occasional visits to the Gulf Islands for tuning.  I often service and repair pianos for organizations that range from private piano teaching studios, the conservatory of music, recording studios, and community concert series.  And occasionally I work on the full-size concert grand piano in the Port Theatre, Nanaimo.

I was honoured to be called recently to tune the Port Theatre grand piano for use in a world premiere performance.  This piece of music was part of the Vancouver Island Symphony’s concert entitled “Nanaimo Home” on April 5th, 2014. The concert featured concertmaster Calvin Dyck performing the world-premiere of a VIS commissioned violin concerto by Emily Doolittle.  I was happy to hear the concert, and (through a well-tuned piano) be a part of the harmony. 

Spring is a beautiful time to be tuning pianos on Vancouver Island.  As I travel around the Nanaimo area I constantly enjoy the changing vistas of ocean and far-off coastal mountains.  I tune pianos for clients in Parksville and Qualicum Beach, and I’m often greeted at their residences with beautiful flowering gardens.  When servicing pianos in the Cowichan Valley and Duncan area, I enjoy driving through farmland and vineyards.  However, it’s always fun to travel somewhere totally different to do my piano tuning work, so I look forward to my yearly visits to Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories.

In March 2014 I spent eight days in Yellowknife servicing pianos for private clients and arts organizations.  One of my main tasks was to carry out the initial after-sales servicing of a new Yamaha grand piano. The performance piano belongs to the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre (NACC) and the chamber music ensemble “Table for Five”. The instrument is housed in the magnificent Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, where it is made available to the community for recitals and events.

The Yamaha C2-X is of the new generation of Yamaha grand pianos featuring a number of improvements over the previous pianos. Hammers are crucial for the tone and colour palette of the instrument. This new X series features a special hammer felt made in Germany. This new felt, called “Wurzen-A” is designated by the two thin dark felt layers visible in the low bass hammers. This hammer felt imbues the piano with a soulful voice capable of interpreting the most romantic music, while still allowing the piano to be pushed to a brilliant imposing sound when called for.

While in Yellowknife I was able to attend some community festivities, including the 19th annual Snow Castle and the Long John Jamboree, where people were enjoying themselves despite the minus thirty degree temperatures. Those Northerners don’t let the cold temperatures dampen their spirits, that is for sure.

Wurzen-A hammer felt

The Hamburg Steinway is considered by many artists to be the finest piano built.  Over the years, I have twice had the opportunity to tour the plant.  Here is a short art film on the making of a Steinway model B grand piano.  Enjoy.

The Hornby Island Music Festival is one of the many wonderful arts organizations that I am honoured to work for.  I have tuned and serviced pianos for the Hornby Festival summer program for many years now, always enjoying the variety of wonderful artists that are selected to perform there each year.  Hornby is also an amazing place to spend a few days – a unique island off the east coast of Vancouver Island, with beautiful parks and beaches, warm waters for swimming, and wonderfully artistic people. 

The Hornby Festival also has a winter series of concerts, and this year I was pleased to tune and service the piano for the March 7th concert of Terance Tam, violin, and Lorraine Min, piano.  They are a dynamic duo that is a pleasure to listen to!

When I return to Hornby Island for the summer festival, I also book piano tunings for private clients in the area (including Denman Island.)  Please contact me to book an appointment.

The full Hornby Festival will be from July 31st to August 9th, 2014.  For great piano music, don’t miss Andre Laplant performing on August 7th and 9th. More information about the upcoming Hornby Island Summer Music Festival can be found on their website: www.hornbyfestival.com

For almost 25 years Jurgen Goering has been tuning and servicing pianos on Vancouver Island. All tunings are done exclusively by ear, using only a tuning fork for one reference note.

I started my training in Germany in 1981, apprenticing for three and a half years to a senior Master Craftsman Piano Maker.  In 1984 I graduated with my Journeyman Piano Maker Diploma.

Thirty years of pianos, of continued learning and professional development – wow, where did the years go?

Fortunately some things stay the same – I still tune pianos the way Beethoven, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff had their pianos tuned.