Staff and Contributors
Larry Fine, publisher and editor, is author of The Piano Book. A Registered Piano Technician, Fine has been involved in the piano industry for 35 years.
Steve Cohen, contributing editor and consultant, has been a piano industry consultant for over 35 years. He is also the owner of Jasons Music Center, a third-generation music business serving the Baltimore/DC market.
Dr. Owen Lovell, piano review editor
Barbara Fandrich, advertising director and research associate
Julie Gallagher, Harry St. Ours, design and production
Del Fandrich, acoustic piano technical consultant
Alden Skinner, digital piano technical consultant
Richard Lehnert, copyeditor
Other contributors to the current issue:
Steve Brady, author of Under the Lid: The Art and Craft of the Concert Piano Technician (Byzantium Books, 2008), currently works each summer as head piano technician at the Aspen Music Festival. The rest of the year he services and rebuilds pianos and teaches piano technology in Seattle.
Ori Bukai is owner of Allegro Pianos in Stamford, Connecticut.
Brian Chung is Senior Vice President of Kawai America Corporation and a leading proponent of the benefits of making music. He is also a pianist, and co-author (with Dennis Thurmond) of Improvisation at the Piano: A Systematic Approach for the Classically Trained Pianist (Alfred Publishing, 2007). Visit his website at www.brianchung.net.
George F. (Frank) Emerson has been working in the piano industry for 48 years. He has been a Registered Piano Technician (RPT) member of the Piano Technicians Guild for 38 years. He can be reached at pianoguru@cox.net.
Anne Garee, RPT, is a Piano Technician and member of the faculty at Florida State University’s College of Music in Tallahassee. A Registered Piano Technician with the Piano Technicians Guild, she is an active clinician in both the U.S. and Canada. She can be reached at agaree@fsu.edu.
Mike Kemper is a Los Angeles-based piano technician and expert on electronic player-piano systems.
Lewis Lipnick is the principal contrabassoonist of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC, and an internationally-acclaimed soloist and teacher. His consulting firm, LipnickDesign, specializes in designing high-resolution audio and video systems, recording studios, and home theaters; in environmental sound control; and in the acoustical design of commercial and residential spaces. Visit his website at www.lipnickdesign.com.
George Litterst (www.georgelitterst.com) is a nationally known music educator, clinician, author, performer, and developer of music software. In the last role, Mr. Litterst is co-author of the intelligent accompaniment program Home Concert Xtreme, the electronic music-blackboard program Classroom Maestro, and the long-distance teaching program Internet MIDI, all from TimeWarp Technologies (www.timewarptech.com).
Don Mannino is Director of Field Services for Kawai and Shigeru Kawai Pianos.
Sally Phillips has worked in virtually every aspect of the piano industry — service, retail, wholesale, and manufacturing. She lives in Kentucky and works throughout the southeastern U.S. She can be contacted at sphillipspiano@hotmail.com.
Rhonda Ringering, NCTM, is a professional pianist, recording artist, independent music teacher, and writer whose articles have appeared in American Music Teacher, Piano & Keyboard, and Clavier. She is currently editor of The Oregon Musician. Her blog can be found at www.ringeringpiano.com.
Alden Skinner has been involved in both the manufacturing and retail sides of the piano business for over 20 years. He currently holds a product management position in the telecommunications field.
Chris Solliday, RPT, has been a piano technician for 35 years. His piano-service business is based in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia and New York City. His private clientele includes concert artists Keith Jarrett, Fred Hersch, Eugene Albulescu, and many other professional musicians. In addition to offering regular, full piano service, Solliday specializes in custom touch designs. He can be reached at www.csollidaypiano.com.
Udo Steingraeber is owner of Steingraeber & Söhne, a piano maker in Bayreuth, Germany, since 1852.
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