Piano Technicians
Don Mannino has always loved fixing things. He repaired bicycles as a kid and after earning a degree in music became an apprentice at a local music store learning the craft of piano repair. In 1980 he established his own piano shop and worked for local music stories tuning their floor models, which...
Dean Reyburn is the piano technician and software engineer who revolutionized the process of tuning pianos with his CyberTuner program. Dean was trained at Moody College on the art of piano repairs and tuning and went on to work in concert halls for over 15 years and with such manufacturers at...
Fred Sturm takes great pride in speaking about the many developments he has witnessed within the Piano Technician's Guild since he first became a member. The creation and implementation of industry protocols and the increased number and quality of training classes have all gone a long way in...
Jim Geiger’s first memory of hearing a piano was when his mother carried him into church in her arms. By the age of seven, he was taking lessons and within ten years he was being trained as a piano technician. The occupation fit him perfectly and he soon discovered that the greatest reward was not...
Norman Cantrell attended the University of Oklahoma City where he studied music education. He soon realized his passion was not in teaching but rather in piano repair and tuning. As a teenager, he studied the craft for several years with a local technician, which included installing pipe organs,...
Joyce Meekins is a pioneering woman piano technician who has sought every opportunity she can find to encourage young women to join the profession. She has served as President of the Washington, DC Chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild three times and in the process helped develop the group into a...
Richard Davenport was the winner of the 2022 Golden Hammer Award, the highest honor bestowed on members of the Piano Technician's Guild. The award comes after a long and influential career that has included his own amazing career as a technician and his inspiring seminars and clinics that have...
Kayoko Forrest was born in Japan and always felt drawn to music and in particular the piano. After moving with her mother to the United States, Kayoko played in the school music program. Interestingly, Richard Davenport, who would later become a mentor to Kayoko, was her teacher. While earning her...
Carl Lieberman has a fascinating career as a piano technician. Not only does Carl tune and maintain the pianos for recording studios in Southern California, for over 50 years he has provided this service for the Princess Cruise line. His parents owned the first Yamaha piano store in the United...
Delwin Fandrich, as a teenager, often spent time with his older brother Darrell, who was a piano technician. Delwin slowly developed his own skills with the trade and focused on learning all he could about the design of the pianos he worked on. After serving in the US Air Force during the Vietnam...