CAUT

Expand all | Collapse all

Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

  • 1.  Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-29-2024 18:50

    Greetings List,

    Wondering how much lead time counterparts at other institutions have before a concert that will use one or more pianos or harpsichords.

    We have several noon concerts each week that take place in an open public space. For these, I get an overview for the semester in advance, but finalized needs only days in advance. I am NOT talking about these kinds of less formal events.

    This is about concert piano and harpsichord servicing for "formal" events in a primary concert venue.

    Randomly, I have heard reports of everything from "at a moment's notice" to "the entire semester (or even year!) at the beginning of the school year," (which would be oh so sweet).

    It's time to gather more data to help shape the future of these logistics at CalArts.

    Thanks,

    Alan



    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-29-2024 19:13
    The professor who is requesting the work needs to take responsibility for any work that needs to be done to an instrument. The person who schedules event needs to inform them that you need (??)  days notice. (Set your own deadline). 

    Last year the cello professor emailed me the day before his faculty recital to tune the piano in the concert hall. This was the same weekend as the Southeast Regional Seminar, for which I was the chairman. I didn't have time, and he got all bent out of shape. To make matters worse, I rearranged my schedule to tune the piano before his recital, but he hadn't looked at the schedule for the concert hall, and there was another recital going on in there. Fortunately, my immediate boss, the head of the piano area, supported me when I told him wasn't given enough notice.

    As much as we want to accommodate and please the faculty and students at the school, they need to take responsibility for their scheduling. They know weeks if not months before they have to perform that they need the piano tuned. Like the old adage says, "a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part". 

    Wim





  • 3.  RE: Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-29-2024 20:12

    Proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance. The 7 Ps



    ------------------------------
    Larry Messerly, RPT
    Bringing Harmony to Homes
    www.lacrossepianotuning.com
    ljmesserly@gmail.com
    928-899-7292
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-29-2024 20:20

    I have long appreciated the succinct style of your posts, Larry! And this one so alliterative to boot!!

    So far, I have been reasonably successful at preventing pianos that have not been properly serviced being used in performance, but that is another matter.



    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-29-2024 20:15

    Thanks for the benefit of your experience about this, Wim. I have a sign above my desk that contains your closing quote!



    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

    Posted 12-29-2024 20:51
    Reminds me of the time I learned I would be expected to work for an important piano faculty recital on Sunday afternoon as I noticed a poster announcing the event late that Friday afternoon.  I could not believe this professor, who was a friend, never even thought to mention it. Of course I made it work, but after that the secretary sent me copies of events as they were scheduled. 

    Dennis Johnson, R.P.T.
    Facebook.com/johnsonpianoservice
    (612) 599-6437  (cell)





  • 7.  RE: Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-29-2024 22:22
    I always had access to the concert manager's calendar, and looked at concert bookings on a regular basis. Initially it was paper, in the manager's office, but later a google calendar to which I was subscribed. I was also able to schedule tunings myself on that calendar.

    When I first started, I relied on concert managers to give me the head's up, then was annoyed when they didn't. I decided it was a better system if I simply took responsibility for informing myself. Not that last minute changes didn't crop up occasionally, but on the whole it worked much better for all involved. 

    Regards,
    Fred Sturm
    fssturm@comcast.net
    Youtube Spotify Deezer Apple Amazon
    http://fredsturm.net
    www.artoftuning.com
    "Art lives from constraints and dies from freedom." Leonardo

















  • 8.  RE: Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-30-2024 07:34
    We have an online calendar listing the schedule for major classrooms and the concert hall. I have access to view events for the whole school year and I schedule time for me to tune the piano which typically means 6 AM in the morning for a 7 PM concert. The concert hall is generally booked all day prior to the concert with no time for a pre-concert touchup. In September I go through the calendar for the whole year, insert early morning Tuning's and put them on my iPhone calendar. Every two weeks I look ahead and note any concerts that have popped up on the calendar and schedule tunings accordingly.
    Bob Maret




  • 9.  RE: Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-30-2024 08:03

    Thanks for your input, Bob. Do I understand correctly that you start out with a template for the entire year, but that other events can be added at pretty much any time, with no minimal advance notice required?



    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-30-2024 08:17
    That's correct. I can see the entire year. School starts again January 6. One week later I will check the calendar for the spring semester to see if anything was added. Then on occasion I will update any changes as the semester proceeds. The professors all know that any events had better be on the calendar.
    Bob Maret




  • 11.  RE: Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-30-2024 11:51
    I know you are asking about “formal” events, but I would point out that the definition of “formal” events and less formal events can be rather murky. For example, there was the day that I realized Jeremy Denk [!] was scheduled to give a master class for the piano majors, master classes having a set form that included welcoming the general public and requiring a pair of matched concert grands to be at the ready. And no one had mentioned it to the piano tech.

    So, over the years I put into place some things that provided me with the information I needed in order to best match the piano service needs with the piano service resources. First off, the matching of demands for piano services with available resources was my job, because no one else wanted to do it, and because it came to be written into the piano tech job description, which helped give weight to the following requests I made in order to carry out the function independently:

    Full access to the concert schedule as events are scheduled. (A good relationship with the scheduler is helpful.)

    Full advance access to the concert programs as the they are created. (This is essential for discovering when pianists and piano repertoire, including dual-pianist works, are programmed.)

    Full up-to-the-minute access to the concert hall daily schedules as they evolve (See above about good relationship with the scheduler. This catches the rehearsal schedule for the concerto competitions and other “routine” events that need pianos that recur each term.)

    Daily scheduled inviolable tech time in the hall. (I worked in the marginal times that few wanted anyway, and I was able to preserve this time over the years because it, technically speaking, wasn’t for me specifically but for general tech activities in the hall. This rarely resulted in conflicts with stage and lighting crews because they didn’t like the marginal [you know, early morning and such] times anymore than anyone else. The only times this presented a problem for piano service was, for example, when a crew opened the outside overhead stage doors in February while a tuning was in progress.)

    I welcomed last-minute notices of piano service needs. This is important. Usually I could respond by saying, “That tuning is already on the schedule.” But the last thing the piano tech should want to do would be to respond negatively, thereby discouraging faculty from giving the piano tech needed information. Occasionally, these last minute notices would be helpful.

    Requested repairs (inherently last-minute) were given absolutely top priority, generally completed early the next morning, or at least, within 24 hours.

    And that brings us back to the management function of matching service needs with service resources. For even last-minute changes, if it fit, it got done. If it really didn’t fit, it didn’t get done. No muss, no fuss, so to speak.

    I would plan the work about a week at a time, but always retained flexibility. Then I would check everything briefly every morning, and would routinely make priority adjustments as needed. If 4 concert grands and 2 harpsichords needed to be tuned on a given day before 9 am, then that is what happened, as far as anyone knew. [!]

    This all meant that the piano service happened under the radar, out of sight, out of mind. This worked well for me personally, in keeping with my [ahem] socially-challenged nature. I suppose this of course did indeed mean that it was easy to take piano service for granted, making me somewhat under-appreciated. You can’t have everything. But I am retired now, and can seek solace in my retirement accounts and pension checks. [!]




  • 12.  RE: Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-30-2024 21:55

    Over my course of institutional work I have inherited three different "system" for notice of work needed on the pianos.

    My 33 years as a contracted technician at PLU and UPS in Tacoma Wa was fraught with challenges at first but we arrived at a workable system in time.  I met with the scheduler ever other week to arrange times to get the tunings/prep done and as above with others likely done in the early AM.  It was most convenient and if a repair needed to be done it was easily accomplished without a lot of drama.  

    Luther College (three year stint) I inherited a system where each performer, whether student or faculty, were required to give one week notice for service.  We had a number of outside performers who were scheduled through the appropriate office with plenty of notice.  Again done early in the AM.  

    Here at U of Oregon (Go Ducks!!) we have production meetings weekly.  This is attended and led by our production manager, building supervisor, room scheduler, and our recording staff.  Policy is that all performances are recorded.  We all have complete access to the performance calendar with editorial privileges.  As above it's always a challenge to get the time on a busy stage and this year will be even more with the Beall Hall Centennial.  We have three principle instruments with five more available including an extended techniques piano along with four performance harpsichords.  

    All performers are REQUIRED to fill out a form to get the process started.  We have to honor requests for particular instruments, get them on and off the stage for the event with preparations for the next one, etc.  It can be a logistical nightmare toward the end of the year with all the recitals.  Two weeks notice is required for live streaming and we stick to it even for the large ensembles.  They have to learn this somehow but there is still a good deal of whining when they don't get their way.  

    Oregon Bach Festival is handled by our production manager with daily meetings for logistics but I am not involved in that meeting.  

    As always if there is an issue with one of the pianos it is take care of immediately.  We are blessed with a very, very stable environment for both the prep room and the stage so there is little drift in the tunings

    To say we are all the "tail end of the whip" would be an understatement.  I can't count the number of times I have spotted a poster and said to myself...wait/whoa where did THAT come from.  It's better with our production meetings but not flawless. If something goes wrong we all own it.  

    MDR



    ------------------------------
    Michael Reiter RPT
    Eugene OR
    (541) 515-6499
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Advance Notice for Concert Piano Servicing

    Posted 01-02-2025 19:58
    Greetings all,

    At the Colburn School we are in the third or fourth year of a school-wide, web based events management program called Asimut. This powerful program has drastically improved our ability to communicate and plan effectively for internal and external events. It is not perfect, but our events are viewable as they come into existence, and information is added as we get closer to the actual date. Piano tech has complete access to the program, which allows us to view, edit and add information as necessary. We can even create events, which we do constantly, adding tuning times, maintenance work, piano and harpsichord moves, etc

    There are still many events and performances that have a surprise request or a last minute change. This is to be expected in our line of work, but we have slowly/surely trained the institution that any event that requires a piano needs a minimum 24 hour notice, and any event with two pianos needs minimum 3 days notice. Access to the performance spaces is our biggest challenge at Colburn; it's a small campus and we have between 500 and 600 events annually, most of which use piano(s). 

    I've learned over the years that being proactive is far more effective than complaining. Or as Fred put it, simply taking responsibility for informing ourselves. We monitor the scheduling program like hyenas, and are constantly asking for clarification, information and program notes. There is also a weekly production meeting on campus and someone from my team always attends. 



    Neema Pazargad

    Director of Piano Technology

    The Colburn School

    200 South Grand Avenue

    Los Angeles, CA 90012

    colburnschool.edu