Director, LPC Piano Technology Institute
The piano is simply my passion! With unbridled dedication, I strive to achieve the highest level of craftsmanship, service, and mentoring. It is an honor for me to be associated with Las Positas College directing the Institute of Piano Technology, the first scholastic, in-person immersive program west of Colorado. I began studying the piano at eight years old in Los Gatos before studying privately for 10 years with John Delavoryus, former Professor of Piano Studies at San Jose State University. A Bay Area native, my family has roots dating back several generations. I attended Los Gatos High School (’77) before enrolling at UC Santa Barbara as a Literature Major. In 2005, by passing examinations at the highest level offered by the Piano Technicians Guild, I achieved the esteemed title of a Registered Piano Technician. I have serviced a variety of different piano models over the past 25 years and have regularly attended specialized training seminars, several occasions at the Steinway & Sons factory in New York, and Oberlin Music Conservatory in Ohio. The Renner Academy in Arizona invited me to attend their action rebuilding seminar.
I worked for over a decade for the Steinway Dealer preparing pianos, managing customer warranty requests, and servicing concert instruments for Steinway & Sons (Concert & Artists Division). Through this I earned recognition as a premiere San Francisco Bay Area concert piano technician. Through my business, The Avid Piano Tech, I specialize in tuning, voicing, repair, and rebuilding concert and heirloom grand piano actions. This includes installing quality action parts, re-stringing, damper replacement and “key-weighting” for touch and tone. As a Concert and University Technician (CAUT), I maintain the Las Positas Community College’s All Steinway School fleet of pianos. I supervise pianos in various concert venues throughout the Bay Area, having rebuilt many of them. Earlier in my life, I competed on high school and college tennis teams, and became a tennis teaching professional for 10 years. This first passion for work interests led me pursue “all things piano related.” I now enjoy walking while discovering photo opportunities, playing the piano, and creating educational videos under the alias “The Avid Piano Technician.” I live in Willow Glen with my wife, Tracy, and we enjoy cooking gourmet meals and playing “bad” golf together.
Website: