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Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

  • 1.  Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 20 days ago

    Greetings,

    Someone recently asked me how long I have been the full-time piano technician at CalArts. (The answer is 42 years--and counting!). Then they asked what the longest continuous stretch served by a CAUT at a single institution is. Hence this post.

    Please chime in with how long you, personally, have worked continuously at any given institution. If you know of someone that may not monitor this list that works/has worked continuously, full-time at the same place for a long stretch, please share that as well.

    Best,

    Alan



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    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
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  • 2.  RE: Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

    Posted 20 days ago

    Alan

    Awesome! You are so extremely fortunate. 🌞



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    Garret Traylor
    Trinity NC
    (336) 887-4266
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  • 3.  RE: Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 19 days ago
    Alan.

    I don’t think there are going to be any piano tuners with a longer service. You are now ready to retire, if you want to.

    When I was at Alabama one of the piano professors had been teaching there for 50 years. She was the longest tenured professor at the university. When she went to a retirement seminar, she found out her retirement income would be more than her teaching income. But she said she liked teaching too much to retire. Rumor had it, she didn’t want retire because she would then have to spend time with her husband.

    Wim
    Sent from my iPhone




  • 4.  RE: Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 19 days ago
    Alan,
    Congrats on your stability.  I've not served full-time at any university, but I have been the primary technician at two small private universities: one (my alma mater) for 44 years and another for 26 years.  Neither place could support a full-time position.

    I admire your longevity. CalArts is fortunate.

    Gary Bruce, RPT, CAGA
    Registered Piano Technician
    Certified Appraiser
    (405) 413-TUNE (8863)



    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 18 days ago

    Garrett and Gary,

    I would count both CalArts and myself as blessed by our sustained working relationship.

    Gary, full-time/part-time aside, at 44 years you've got me beat (for now, anyway;-)!



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


  • 6.  RE: Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 17 days ago
    Alan et al,
    I worked at Cleveland State University for 30 years. Covid forced my hand and I retired from that institution when I was 68. I had planned to work 2 more years. I still do 2-4 tunings a month. No large scale work, just tuning and occasional regulations and minor repairs. I enjoy it too much.

    Steve ( learning harpsichord repertoire at this late date) Kabat





    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 18 days ago

    Wim wrote:

    "You are now ready to retire, if you want to."

    That's just the thing, Wim: Do I want to retire (now)? No. I thoroughly enjoy working on pianos and love training aspiring technicians!

    As some of you may already know, I remember the specific moment when I was a lad of but 19 years when I seriously considered the prospect of a career as a piano technician. I knew enough about pianos at that point in time to sense that even if I kept going for another 50 or 60 years, this work could continue to fascinate and challenge me, that I would likely never feel like I had attained exhaustive knowledge about pianos, and I could likely do this work until I don't wake up one day. Well, I did not get much right at age 19, but I nailed that one!

    I know too many people that don't like their work, their co-workers and/or their bosses. They seem to be living for the opportunity to retire. I feel sorry for them, and deeply grateful for feeling just the opposite.



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


  • 8.  RE: Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 18 days ago
    I'm with Alan on retirement.  I'll go when I have to, but especially with the historical pianos, there is no end to the interesting things to learn and do.  I'm not working full time, so I am usually working on my terms; I'd much rather be doing this than golfing in Florida.
    Ken

    Historicalkeyboards.as.cornell.edu



    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 17 days ago
    Alan,  

    You wrote: I love training aspiring technicians! 

    You have, I'm sure some sort of guiding curriculum or procedures that you have settled on with years of working with aspiring technicians. As such, it's most likely not directly applicable to what could be done to further independent aspiring technicians by PTG. 

    And, yet, it might be helpful to mentors and chapters to have you share some ideas/methods/experiences that might be incorporated by mentors and chapters trying to reach to our extra-terrestrial outside aspiring folks in order to prove the value of what PTG offers. I won't say curriculum because that's seems to be dirty word in PTG. But as an example, my tenure at the University of Nebraska was valuable in that there was a ready crop of "practice" pianos that would benefit from even beginners to make improvements.

    To our detriment I believe PTG finds it difficult to encourage/teach new, aspiring folks. PTG has always seen continuing education as its central mission. That's certainly a worthy orientation. But, if there's anything that you do that would be useful to chapters and mentors, I would like to hear it. I ask the same question to all those like you (Jim Busby, North Bennett, and other "schools/universities" with even a basic educational focus). 

    Thanks for any input you might have.

    Richard West


    PS Robin Whitehouse said: I suppose this doesn't need any further discussion,

    My reply: I beg to differ!





    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 17 days ago
    Alan

    I "retired" almost 6 years ago when I sold my business in Hawaii and moved to Florida. I no sooner got there when I was asked to take over a university for a tuner who had Covid. It was supposed to be temporary, but unfortunately, he died. Now, 5 years later, I "retired" from the university, but will continue doing private work. Not because I need the money, but like you, I love working on pianos. As long as the body is willing and the ears can hear, I plan on doing this for a long time. At 81 years old, I don't know how long that will be, but for now, I'm still "working".  



    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 19 days ago
    I've got Alan beat, but with an asterisk.  I started as the tech at Cornell in the fall of 1975, and worked in their vendor system until 2001, when a building renovation allowed them to increase the number of pianos to about 57.  At that point, the job became a staff job, half time, with benefits.  I retired from that in January 2022, after 46 years, but I immediately started another very part time job working for the Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards (CCHK), and I'm still doing that.
    Ken Walkup

    Historicalkeyboards.as.cornell.edu





  • 12.  RE: Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 18 days ago

    I salute you, Ken (and have your record in my sights! ;-).



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

    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: Longevity of full-time CAUTs at the same institution

    Posted 19 days ago

    Congrats! Alan that is awesome! 

    I know Charles Ball did 40 years at University of Texas at Austin before he retired. 

    We have a piano professor retiring this year that has been on faculty for 54 years!



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    Andrew Edwards
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