Piano Technicians Guild
WESTPAC - Western and Pacific Regional Conference

Don Mannino, RPT - Kawai

Don Mannino, RPT, began an apprenticeship with a piano rebuilder while completing his studies at San Diego State University as a piano performance major in 1979. After working as an independent piano technician in the San Diego area, he held the position of National Service Manager for Young Chang Pianos, then was Manager of Technical Support for Kawai Pianos in the US and Canada, and now serves as the Director of Technical Training for Kawai and Shigeru Kawai Pianos. Don and his wife Patty are the editors of the Southern California Combined PTG newsletter. In addition to teaching  at regional technician seminars, PTG Annual conventions, and at PTG chapter meetings, he also has designed technicians tools and has had  articles on a variety of technical topics published in the Piano Technicians Journal, including Action Center service, a series on grand action regulation, and the use of plastics in piano actions. In 2010 he was certified in Japan as a Kawai "Master Piano Artisan" (or MPA), the highest level of technician for the Kawai company. Don resides in Cypress, CA with his wife Patty. Their daughter Sarah is studying Aerospace Engineering at UCSD. www.shigerukawai.com

Issac Sadigursky, RPT

Issac Sadigursky, RPT, has been in the piano tuning business since 1974. After immigrating from the USSR with solid professional musical training, he worked for Bill Finnegan's Piano Brokers as an apprentice, prepping pianos and sweeping floors in the shop. Issac attended the UCLA Extension course in Piano Technology under Leon Levitch, studied piano tuning privately with Darwin Kristall, RPT and studied under Dennis Nicholson, RPT, at the American Institute of Piano Technology. Issac's clientele grew to over 7,000 including 4 school districts, many churches, synagogues, country clubs restaurants, music and piano teachers and private clientele. Issac does a large variety of repairs in his well-equipped shop and often works with apprentices, raising a new breed of PTG members. Issac has taught at local chapters, regional and national conventions, covering a wide variety of topics on tuning and repairs. Issac still likes to perform and plays accordion and clarinet with different folk and casual groups on weekends. www.isaacspianoservice.com

Jim Coleman, Jr. , RPT - Coleman Tools

Jim Coleman, Jr. began learning to repair pianos during his early elementary school years. His father, a second generation piano technician, started teaching young Jim how to tune pianos at the age of 15. By the time Jim graduated from high school in 1962 he was tuning pianos for friends and his church. At the age of 19 he was the piano technician for the Baldwin piano dealer in Phoenix, Arizona. He also worked part time for his father and soon began to build his own private clientele. In July 1966 Jim moved to Indiana to become the Quality Control Engineer in the piano division of the C. G. Conn company. In 1968 he returned to Phoenix to rebuild his private business. In 1975 Jim joined the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG) and soon became a Craftsman (now called a Registered Piano Technician) member of PTG. In 1991 Jim was elected to the office of Western Regional Vice President of PTG, he later served as Secretary/Treasurer (1994-1996 and 2006-2009) and is currently the Vice President of PTG. During the 1980’s recession, Jim took the opportunity to become the piano technician for Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Due to health issues with his daughter the family had to return to Arizona and by 1989 Jim was once again rebuilding his private clientele. In 2007 Jim moved his family to East Tennessee where he is currently the piano technician for the University of Tennessee  www.utk.edu/music in Knoxville, TN. www.colemantools.com

Vince Mrykalo, RPT

Vince Mrykalo, RPT, began learning to tune and repair pianos in April of 1972 and started tuning for a Baldwin dealer in Howell, NJ in January of 1973. In 1976 he joined the PTG as an Apprentice, and became a Craftsman in 1978, receiving his 25 year pin in 2003. In 2006 at the Rochester, NY Convention, he received the Crowl-Travis Member of Note Award. Vince has trained at the Baldwin Factory in Conway AR in 1983 under Jack Krefting, Willard Sims, and Ben McKlveen. He attended the Yamaha Disklavier school in 1993 working under Brian DeTar and Laroy Edwards, completed all five Theodore Steinway & Sons factory training session between 1992 and 2002 under Scott Jones, and later Eric Schandall, and went through the Shigeru Kawai training in 2004 under Don Mannino and Terri Otake. He has taught at various PTG Conventions since 1990 and has been a University technician since 1990. He is now the piano technician at the University of Utah, a position he has held since June 2002, and operates his own rebuilding shop and piano service. www.mrykalopiano.com

Steve Brady, RPT

Steve Brady, RPT served as head piano technician at the University of Washington from 1978 till 2003. During those 25 years he tuned and prepared pianos for approximately 5,000 concerts and recitals, and worked with most of the leading pianists of our time. Steve served as editor of the Piano Technicians Journal for six years (1995 to 2001). In 1996 he received the Piano Technicians Guild’s “Member of Note” award, and in 1999 PTG published his book, A Piano Technician’s Guide to Field Repairs, which recently went into a second edition. His latest book, Under the Lid: The Art and Craft of the Concert Piano Technician, was published in 2008. Steve currently serves as head piano technician for the Aspen Music Festival and School. In his spare time Steve enjoys cooking, tending his wine cellar, and dancing Argentine tango. He lives in Seattle with his wife, the concert pianist Judith Cohen. www.stevebradypiano.com

Kent Webb - Manager, Technical Service and Support, Steinway & Sons

Kent is the Manager of Technical Service and Support for Steinway & Sons. In this position, Kent oversees and conducts the Steinway Training Academy. He also works closely with All-Steinway Schools and Institutions to develop and maintain service strategies and resources. In addition, Kent coordinates service literature and publications, works closely with Festival Events, and participates extensively in educational events. Kent Webb has been involved in the piano industry for over 30 years as a concert technician and rebuilder. In addition to his position at Steinway & Sons, Kent served as a contributing writer and consultant for both editions of The Encyclopedia of Keyboard Instruments (Garland Press, NY, NY) supplying articles on rebuilding, regulation, tuning, and piano design. He also served as technical columnist for the Soundboard, a publication for music educators in the United States with a circulation of over 50,000. Prior to his position with Steinway, Kent was the National Service Manager for Baldwin Piano Company for 10 years. Kent also was on the Board of Advisors for the School of Piano Technology at Western Iowa Tech and the Board of Industry Advisors for the University of Western Ontario for their School of Piano Technology. Kent has taught at over 400 local, regional, national, and international events. www.steinway.com

Keith Bowman, RPT - Hailun USA

Keith has a broad background in woodworking spanning over 30 years. His interest in piano technology began in 1979 leading to an apprenticeship and eventual management position in a full service shop learning service and restoration of pianos, players, reed organs and harpsichords. In 1984 he started his company, Bowman’s Piano Service. Keith has been a PTG member since 1982 and an examiner for the RPT exams for 20 years. He originated a full product line of tuning and voicing tools, as well as shop fixtures, for Renner USA, and is a technical consultant for Hailun USA.

Mike Carraher, RPT - Renner USA

Mike has been a member of PTG since 1979 and an examiner for the RPT exams since 1981. He also designed the first repair jigs for the technical exam and still participates in their construction. For over 20 years Mike has taught various tuning and regulation classes at the local, regional and Institute levels. He makes shop fixtures and exhibits for Renner USA, and is a technical consultant for Hailun USA. Mike has owned and operated Carr’s Piano Service in Elizabethtown PA for over 25 years.

LaRoy Edwards RPT

LaRoy Edwards is one of the founding members of PTG. He has been teaching classes for PTG, on behalf of Yamaha, for over 40 years. In the early 1970s, he developed the Yamaha Little Red Schoolhouse program for piano technicians. LaRoy is considered by many technicians to be one of the best instructors in the piano industry.

Horace Greeley

Born into a marginally musical family, Horace Greeley was indentured to a local piano teacher before he was four years old. Fortunately, this worthy, a student of Theodor Leschetizky, was so well trained and motivated that she was able to help the young miscreant progress in spite of himself. At the age of 11, having had brief flirtations with both the violin and the clarinet, he found himself picking up the bassoon. Early study and orchestral experience led to ten years of study with Frederick Moritz (principal bassoon of the Los Angeles Philharmonic), five years study of harmony, theory and composition with a student of Nadia Boulanger; and five years studying conducting with Frederick Zweig, former principal conductor of the Berlin Opera (colleague of George Szell and Bruno Walter). Maintaining an active performance career for many years, Horace served as principal bassoon with many regional orchestras. Among others, he has performed with Herbert Blomstedt, Zubin Mehta, Carlos Chavez, Darius Milhaud, and Ingolf Dahl. He has also served on the faculties of U.C. Riverside, CSU San Bernardino, and the University of Redlands.

After commenting to an established piano tuner that “any idiot” could tune a piano, Horace entered the piano tuning profession quite by accident in 1966. An unpaid apprenticeship which lasted two years was quickly followed by an abrupt entry into concert preparation and service in 1968. In September of that year, the Cerritos College Jazz Series opened with Oscar Peterson performing, and Horace in attendance as technician. A completely new aspect of piano service when Peterson said: “...ya’ done good, kid...”. Bright lights, shining faces...Ah...youth!

While concentrating on Steinway instruments, Horace has been actively providing concert, and warranty, as well as private service for fine pianos for over forty-four years. He has worked with over a third of the currently active Steinway artists; and counts it his extreme good fortune to have been able to spend significant amounts of time training with some of the top Steinway factory and concert technicians. Among others, these have included Bill Hupfer, Fred Drasche, Joe and Ralph Bisceglie, John Bogyos, Raymond Parada, Kenyon Brown, Keith Hardesty, and Franz Mohr.