Los Angeles Chapter
Two online meetings this month! Special dates and times!
May Meeting: New Dates and Times
Topic: The Evolution of the Piano: A
Collaboration Across Space and Time
by Alan Eder, RPT, MFA
Part 1:
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Part 2: Wednesday, May 13, 2020
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: In front of your computer, smart phone or
tablet
To attend the class, please email aeder@calarts.edu by Tuesday, May 5 to receive a link to each online session.
Last month, we were given a lecture by Don Mannino of Kawai America. He was kind enough to give the presentation from his home through Zoom, and he did an excellent job switching between Powerpoint slides and video clips of a Shigeru voicing class he gave late last month in Chicago. Don started with some history and context for the Shigeru line and moved into factory procedures and key points differentiating Shigeru pianos from Kawai's standard line of pianos. An MPA himself, he explained what the MPA's responsibilities are and their role within the factory and in the field. With the Shigeru's tighter specs, an MPA is sent out within the first year of purchase to ensure that each piano performs at a high level. Don ended the last part of the lecture with some key points on hammer felt, string leveling, hammer mating, and the 3 zone graphic of voicing a hammer.
Join us again on Zoom for "The Evolution of the Piano" which traces an epic journey beginning with the origins of our planet, continuing through the progression of human technology, including the piano, and culminating with a look ahead to the ongoing development of the piano into the 21st Century and beyond. If it sounds cosmic, that's because it is!
Throughout human history, the march of technology has been fueled primarily by survival instinct, but also by a need for recreational play. In this class, Fulbright Scholar, musician, musicologist, Registered Piano Technician, tool-lover, and cultural observer, Alan Eder, examines the history of tool-making and usage as they inform and lead to the eventual development of our culture's polyphonic instrument of choice. Special attention is focused on the parallel evolution of weaponry and musical instruments-the tools that distinguish homo-sapiens from other tool-using creatures.
Eclectic stops along the way include a comparison of George Washington and Bartolomeo Cristofori, and the long shadows each cast forward in their respective realms. We will also consider what the rest of the world wanted from America in the 19th Century, and what it looks to us for today.
Source materials are drawn from an extensive bibliography of texts on piano history; documentaries about nature, human evolution, mythology, weapons and pianos; TED talks, movies, poetry, and video games. Eder's own efforts have been magnified by the contributions of legions of pianists, piano technicians, students of music history, and other workshop participants over the past decade.
Because of the highly interactive nature of this program, Eder has declined proposals to make a video documentary of it. He believes that each iteration of the presentation develops its own unique character, benefitting from both the accrual of new information and the contributions of each particular group of participants. Due to the Coronavirus, this year's CalArts class in 19th Century music history has migrated online. While interpersonal interaction is regrettably lost, these unusual circumstances also present an opportunity to format the class for an online meeting and open it to a far wider audience. There is a party in Alan Eder's mind, and you are all invited!
(For a 30 second video-collage trailer for "The Evolution of the Piano", please visit: https://youtu.be/VIwm7H37Tlk)
What they are saying about "The Evolution of the Piano…"
"I gotta see this!" Marc Lowenstein
"Best piano history presentation
EVER!!!" Alan Eder's mom
"The Evolution of the Piano" is three hours in
duration, divided in two segments.
To attend the class, please email
aeder@calarts.edu by Tuesday, May 5 to receive a link to each online
session.
Helpful Covid-19 Information from Tim Michaels of the Los Angeles Chapter:
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) became available in California on April 28th for self-employed and 1099 independent contractors who are impacted by Covid-19. If you are completely out of business or your services are significantly reduced as a direct result of the pandemic you might be able to receive assistance from this program.
If you already submitted an unemployment application with the EDD prior to April 28th and you are a self employed/independent contractor with no W2s you will need to submit a new application to take advantage of PUA.
Depending on when you became directly impacted by the pandemic you can be paid retroactively as far back as February 2, 2020.
The EDD recommends filing an application online at https://edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/UI_Online.htm If you submit an application by mail, fax or by phone your claim could be delayed.
These links provide more information about the program and assistance with filling out the application.
PUA Program
https://edd.ca.gov/about_edd/coronavirus-2019/pandemic-unemployment-assistance.htm
Frequently asked questions about PUA
https://edd.ca.gov/about_edd/coronavirus-2019/pandemic-unemployment-assistance/faqs.htm
Guide and instruction for applying: