Renner Academy Instructors
The Piano Industry’s Top Instructors
Rick Baldassin
Rick is Senior Technical Consultant to Renner USA, Concert Technician for the Utah Symphony, Brigham Young University, and owner of Baldassin Performance Pianos. He has consulted a number of leading piano manufacturers in all areas of design, production, regulation, and service, over his more than three decades in the piano business, and has conducted training seminars throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Russia, Korea, and Australia.
Nicholas Gravagne
Nick combines a formal engineering background with over 40 years of hands-on experience in piano design, manufacturing, and rebuilding. He has authored numerous articles for the piano trade and has been a featured instructor at piano technical seminars all over the U.S. His business currently revolves around rebuilding and manufacturing custom soundboards for the piano rebuilding trade.
Neema Pazargad
Neema has been a technician and rebuilder for 15 years; he has been closely affiliated with the Colburn School in Los Angeles since 2011, and has served as Director of Piano Technology since 2018. He combines a background in classical piano performance and construction management, blending elements from both disciplines to provide concert work, and rebuilding services to a number of important venues and institutions in the Southern California area. He has engaged in extensive training and has ongoing relationships with a number of manufacturers, including Fazioli, Bosendorfer, Steingraeber, Steinway, Bechstein, Yamaha and Kawai.
Michael Spreeman
Michael is the creator of the handcrafted Ravenscroft Piano and founder of Spreeman Piano Innovations. His experience includes 47 years as a concert technician, piano rebuilder, service technician, and instructor, and has worked with some of the finest recording studios and performing artists in the country. He earned the German “Klavierbauer” certification and has been a technical consultant to Renner, Fazioli, Yamaha, Steinway, and Baldwin.
Carl Teel
Carl is a 49-year industry veteran and has taught Renner classes for over 24 years at regional and national seminars all over the U.S. His formal education includes a double major in Engineering and Accounting at the University of Utah, in addition to several decades of hands-on experience. He owns his own piano technical and restoration business where he specializes in providing a variety of services to the trade.
Trying to save his school district money on piano repairs led Thane Yennie into a new adventure that would become his life-long passion.
Learning the business from the ground up is not only a familiar saying, but it is the path that Richard Woodruff followed in developing his own business, Woodruff Piano Repair, in Tucson, Arizona. Woodruff also serves as a technician with the University of Arizona.
Robert Wilkinson knew early on that the field of music would be his career path. He pursued the more specific area of piano technology after graduating with a degree in music and apprenticing with a highly respected piano technician in Augusta, Georgia.
It was his apprenticeship for three years with a highly experienced piano technician that inspired Stephen Wallace to pursue a career in piano technology, serving MidCoast Maine.
Her positive experience at a highly respected private vocational school in Boston motivated Christina Scroggins to pursue a career in piano technology, founding her own business, Scroggins Piano Service, which serves the San Francisco Bay area in California.
Earning money for Arabic language studies motivated Jared Rowles to pursue piano technology studies as a high school homeschool student years ago. Today, his career and his piano tuning and repair business have blossomed, enabling him not only to provide for his family but to serve his community as well.
Growing up with many pianos as a child, Will Roper was encouraged by his parents to learn how to tune them. That encouragement influenced Roper over the years to pursue a career as a basic piano instructor at North Bennet Street School in Boston, Massachusetts. Today, he specializes in trade school education and offers his expertise to other piano owners.
Pianos have always fascinated Scott Reitz, owner of Scott Reitz Piano Service and a registered piano technician serving Los Angeles, California, and surrounding areas.
A love for music – and a need to develop income – combined to compel Will Lauzon to pursue a career in piano technology, a decision he has never regretted. “I wanted a job that would involve music in some way – one that would facilitate my ability to write and perform music without relying on writing or performance to earn a living,” Lauzon says.
An expert guitar luthier and owner of a guitar restoration business, Eddie Paik always was fascinated with the intricacies of piano technology – maintaining, repairing and rebuilding pianos with some 12,000-plus parts.
It is not often that a concert pianist also knows how to repair and rebuild the instrument, but that is the story of Yoahn John Kwon, an independent piano technician in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
It was the encouragement from a well-known piano technician to become a piano tuner that eventually motivated Steven J. Hopp to develop his own business, Piano Works Gallery & Clocks in Midland, Texas.
The transition from the corporate world to the piano technology field was an easy decision for Paul Gates, owner of Gates Piano Service in Davis County, Utah.
In 1978, while studying piano in college, Kayoko “Kay” Forrest was offered a job at one of the best-regarded piano stores in the country, David L. Abell fine pianos. He employed some of the finest piano technicians in Southern California. This opened a path for her to train with mentors and teachers. “He was the consummate piano man,” Forrest says of her training, recalling his passion for excellent customer service.
From chemistry to the piano business – quite a journey for Bradley Evans, owner of Lynn Evans Piano Service in Taylorsville, Mississippi.
Tuning and fixing pianos proved more interesting than just selling them, says Gregory Davidson, in explaining why he founded Topaz Pianos in Victoria, BC.
A family that valued musical talent and a hands-on work ethic influenced Dana Christensen at a young age to eventually pursue formal musical education which led to establishing her own business, Pianos by Dana, located in Bend, Oregon.
McKinley Corbley is a shop and field technician at Piano Craft, a dealership in Gaithersburg, Maryland, specializing in higher-end piano sales and rebuilding.
Growing up with pianos left an indelible mark on Tim Anderson, who today serves as lead technician with Tim’s Tuning in Woodstock, Georgia.
Matt Brown grew up in his father’s rebuilding shop. At seven years old, he began learning the trade and found his life’s calling in the process. Now the owner of Matt Brown Piano in Mesa, Arizona, he specializes in piano tuning, regulation, minor repairs, and complete piano restorations.
Physics, creativity, and a love for hands-on work are the key ingredients behind the success of Ivory 52, a piano business founded by Amanda Casanova, serving Hudson, Wisconsin, and surrounding areas.
When she was young, Ashley Blaha was fascinated by watching the piano tuner work on her family’s piano. She started learning more and ever since, piano technology has been a life-long passion. She now has her own business, The Artful Key, in McKinney, Texas, that serves the larger Dallas area.
While a university student studying music, Jason Cassel realized that he would need to think long-term about how he would make a living in that field. Fortunately, it was then that he discovered the university’s piano shop, where he was hired as a student apprentice.
It was a midlife career change that took James Fernandez to Lindeblad Piano Restoration in Dover, New Jersey. He says it was the opportunity to work with the well-respected Lindeblad Piano family that drew him in.
It was an old piano given to him by his mother that sparked José Cabrera’s interest in pursuing a career as a piano technician. “She gave me the piano while I was at the conservatory,” he says. “But since we couldn’t afford to have it fixed, I enrolled in a piano technology class at the conservatory so that I could learn how to fix it myself.” And as they say, the rest is history. It was then that he discovered his passion for restoring pianos to their original glory.
Curiosity may not be good for cats, but it proved golden for Scott Burns, a piano technician in Helotes, Texas, whose curiosity about pianos ended up as a life-long career for him.
Akane Behrens is a piano technician associated with Behrens Klavier Service, located at 319 W. Webster Road in Royal Oak, Michigan. The business specializes in home piano tuning and repairs.
A sensitivity to vibration and a love for playing the piano played a role in guiding Lin Bai to pursue a career as a piano technician and ultimately become involved with Golden Lark Led in North York, Ontario, Canada.
It was a fascination with the piano since age five that ultimately landed Calvin Wong on the campus of the University of Alberta and the Department of Music in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he serves as a piano technician.
The pandemic had its downsides, but for Christopher Vesenka, it proved to be the silver lining on the cloud, providing him with an opportunity to change his career path. “My uncle offered to teach me the piano technician business, and as they say, the rest is history.”
Mark Thurner’s passion for music and a fascination with acoustics provided the springboard for Harmony Piano Tuning in Los Angeles, California.
Billed as Arizona’s largest used piano store, Stilwell Pianos offers a wide array of services, specializing in the refurbishing of pre-owned instruments that are recreated to sound as good as new. They are located at 1941 W Guadalupe Road #115 in Mesa, Arizona.
A piano teacher’s advice proved instrumental in shaping Luke Shank’s future. “My piano teacher told me I had musical talent and was good with my hands,” he recalls, instilling a sense of confidence and helping focus his interest in those two areas.
After his honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps, Aaron Reyburn joined his father in the family business, Reyburn Pianoworks, 4625 14 Mile Road NW in Rockford, Michigan.
When listening to Jude Reveley talk about restoring vintage pianos, you quickly realize you are talking with someone who is passionate about his work. As the owner of Absolute Piano Restoration, 171 Lincoln Street in Lowell, Massachusetts, Reveley is intensely focused on restoring an instrument as closely to its original design as possible while at the same time ensuring the highest quality performance possible.
At age six, Sofia de la Peña was fascinated as she watched a piano technician tune the piano in their home. It was a fascination that would stay with her for life.
“I have been fascinated by the piano since I started playing at the age of nine,” Jared Maltba recalls. “When the opportunity came to work on them, I fell in love with the process, seeing how a piano can be transformed and achieve maximum performance.”
Given his fascination for tuning pianos, Tom Maeda says he wanted to save money by tuning pianos himself. “My old friend who managed a piano store asked me to help out in the store, where I acquired two years of training in all aspects of piano servicing, repairs and maintenance,” he recalls.
As CEO of Pianoteknikk in Lunner, Norway, Robert Johannesen knows the value of continuing education, having most recently traveled to the United States, where he completed advanced training with the world-renowned Renner Academy, a division of Renner USA, headquartered in Carefree, Arizona.
Combine a mechanical inclination with a love for music, and you get Jonathon Jacobeen, a master piano technician and owner of Nova Piano Tuning in Manassas, Virginia.
Tobias Hamilton was born and raised in the piano business. He was taught by his grandfather, father, and his uncle – all well-established piano technicians. Tobias took the piano business seriously when his father became ill and could not work anymore.
A love for music and a fascination with the craftmanship of pianos is what inspired Lucas Heuer to pursue a career as a certified piano technician. He is associated with Texas Piano Restoration, 625 Lake Vista Lane in Lavon, Texas.
It was an early passion for pianos that eventually led Joshua Gaither to establish Volunteer Piano, 10004 Hall Drive in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Getting into the technical field of piano rebuilding and repair “was a complete accident,” Adam Hayes confesses. “I was in need of a job halfway through my accounting degree program,” he candidly admits. However, fate had something else in mind.
