Los Angeles Chapter
November Meeting:
Date: Tues. 11/12/2024
Time: 7:00 pm
Location:
Kawai America
2055 E. University, Rancho Dominguez CA 90220
or on Zoom
A big thank you to Franco Skilan for hosting our October meeting at his shop.
We inspected a 100+ year old Steinway B with the intention of learning what
it would take to bring the piano back to prime condition. Franco had thoroughly
gone over the instrument, and he caught a few items on the piano that slipped by
many of us in the room, such as the fact that the piano was standing on the
wrong legs, needs a new lyre, and had a sub-optimal job done replacing the
soundboard. The structure was solid however, and given the vintage era of the
build, this piano has the possibility of a successful renaissance.
It was
a good night together and, thanks to Franco's offer, this will become an ongoing
project that the chapter will get to be involved in as the piano is pulled apart
and put back together to a level that will serve for another century, barring
water or fire intrusion, as Franco said. We will not be here a century hence,
but this piano certainly could be.
For November we will join the South
Bay Chapter in for a Zoom presentation from New Mexico by Fred Sturm, RPT. Fred
has been a major contributor to education within the Guild, presenting numerous
times at convention. He worked as a technician for 35 years at the University of
New Mexico as well as maintaining a private clientele. On top of his work in
piano tech, Fred is also an excellent pianist, specializing in performing the
works of Latin American composers, as some may have had a chance to experience
when Fred performed on Bruce Stevens' rebuilt Steinway C which was exhibited in
Reno. For this Zoom presentation Fred will talk about historical temperaments.
The meeting will be on Tuesday, November 12th at 7 pm. If you cannot attend
in person, please email Don Mannino donmannino@socalptg.org for the Zoom link.
Looking ahead, start your baking for our annual holiday party in December,
and plan on joining a multi-chapter meeting in January to start the new year. In
conjunction with the NAMM show we will have the pleasure of hearing from Torben
Garlin, Director of Concert and Institutional Services for C. Bechstein. He will
present a workshop on concert service.
Save the date now. This will be
held on MLK day, Monday, January 20, 2025, as a daytime meeting, from 10 am to 3
pm. Lunch will be provided. We hope we can get a great turn out for what is sure
to be a great session. A big thank you to Kayoko Forrest for her work in helping
make this day come together!
Speaking of NAMM, passes are available to
Guild members through the home office. Log in to the PTG web site for
information.