Instructors • Bios

Rick received his education and piano technology training from Brigham Young University. He is the author of the book On Pitch, which was recently re-published. Rick served as the Tuning Editor for the Journal from 1987 to 1991. His teaching has taken him to piano factories and conventions throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia, Korea, Indonesia and Australia. Rick has served as the Concert Technician for the Utah Symphony for over 20 years, and has been the Teaching and Technical Consultant for Renner since 1989. He has been trained in the concert and artist programs of Fazioli, Steinway and Yamaha, and has been a consultant to the Falcone, Mason & Hamlin, and Pramberger and Samick Piano Companies. Rick also serves as the Technical Support Director for Fazioli in North America. He has received the PTG Member of Note, Jim Burton, and Hall of Fame awards, and most recently was honored with the prestigious PTG Golden Hammer award. Rick and his wife Cindy currently operate Baldassin Pianos, a full-line rebuilding and retail showroom located in the Salt Lake City area.

Steve Brady was head piano technician at the University of Washington for 25 years, and more recently at the Aspen Music Festival for five years. Steve served as editor of the Piano Technicians Journal from 1995 to 2001. In 1996 he received PTG's "Member of Note" award, and in 1999 PTG published his book, A Piano Technician's Guide to Field Repairs. His latest book, Under the Lid: The Art and Craft of the Concert Piano Technician, was published in 2008. In July of 2012 he was inducted into the PTG Hall of Fame. Most recently, Steve was honored with the prestigious PTG Golden Hammer award.

Jason Cassel currently serves as a Piano Technician for the Brigham Young University School of Music. Before accepting this position, Jason Cassel graduated with an MA in Piano Technology from Florida State University – a distinction shared by only a dozen technicians in the nation. He earned his BM in Commercial Music from BYU while working as a student apprentice in the university’s piano shop. Jason has received training at the Steinway & Sons Factory in New York, the Mason & Hamlin Factory in Boston, and from Yamaha Pianos in California.

Jason is a Registered Piano Technician with the Piano Technicians Guild and has presented at local chapter meetings and attended various regional and national conventions. Many of his articles on piano technology have been published in the Piano Technicians Journal and his work on the revolutionary On Pitch DVD Series has been considered “an unprecedented tool to propel the next generation of fine tuners.” (Anne Garee – Former Head of Piano Technology at FSU)

Stephen Carver is the chief concert technician for the Tanglewood Music Center for 14 years, and had been a concert technician at the Aspen and Chautauqua music festivals. He recently retired as the manager of piano maintenance and chief piano technician at Juilliard. He was previously with the University of Iowa School of Music and Hancher Auditorium Performing Arts Center, where he worked for more than two decades.

Steve has a degree in science from PSU and considered a career in medicine, including a graduate degree in biophysics. Instead, he chose a career as a piano technician, since he was always interested in pianos while growing up in the small town of Ridgway, PA. Along with maintaining the many pianos and managing the service staff at Tanglewood, Steve has taken care of the pianos for many of the world's renowned pianists. But through it all, his eyes still gleam when he talks pianos.

Gregory Cheng graduated from West Chester University with degrees in Music Performance and Computer Science. Tuning pianos since he was a teenager, Greg worked through college apprenticing with the Chief Technician at West Chester University. During his tenure at the university, he learned and refined his skills in aural tuning, repairs, and action rebuilding.

Greg was the Service Manager for Jacobs Music in Philadelphia responsible for a service department of 16 full-time technicians. Greg also specializes in modern player piano repair, action rebuilding, touch weight analysis, and polyester/lacquer furniture repair. Greg is the General Manager and Chief Technician for Allied Piano and Finish LLC and is highly regarded and sought after by the top manufacturers for his customer, technical and problem solving skills.

After graduating from both NBSS Piano Technology programs, Louis worked in a number of piano rebuilding shops, and eventually launched his own business, Brevet Piano Service, in Santa Rosa, CA. He is a Registered Piano Technician with the Piano Technicians Guild, serving as President and Vice President in the Central North Carolina chapter and later, as Vice President for the San Francisco chapter. In 2016, Louis joined the North Bennet Street School Piano Technology Faculty.

Anne Garee, Program Director for Piano Technology (ret), came to Florida State University as a piano technician in 1983 and joined the faculty in 2004. Along with her concert tuning and restoration duties, Ms. Garee has enjoyed a 29 year teaching career in the College of Music offering a series of piano technology courses for pianists and piano technicians. She is an active clinician in the U.S. with yearly invitations to present at conventions throughout the country. Her international teaching experiences have included technical courses for pianists and technicians in Costa Rica as part of the University’s FloRica Program, an invitation by the Carter Center in Atlanta to formulate a Piano Technology course for teachers of the blind in mainland China, and most recently presentations in Denmark, Canada, and New Zealand. Thanks to a strong Early Music Program at The Florida State University, she has enjoyed working with harpsichords, clavichords, fortepianos and square grands and their historical temperaments and tuning systems.

She designed and implemented the Piano Technology track within the Master of Arts degree program in the College of Music at FSU. This program is the first of its kind anywhere and affords graduate students the unusually rich experience of working with students and faculty in a comprehensive school of music. Past graduates of the program are now employed in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

Ms. Garee holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance and completed a three year apprenticeship program for the Certificate in Piano Technology from the Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She is a Registered Piano Technician with the Piano Technicians Guild. Anne has additional training from Steinway and Yamaha working with concert technicians and digital acoustics instructors.

Arlan has over 40 years experience as a piano technician. Formerly of Steinway & Sons in New York, Arlan worked in the well known basement of Steinway Hall in the 80’s, then worked as a liaison for Steinway & Sons as an independent contractor for 12 years as a Concert Piano Technician, Educator, Troubleshooter in Latin and South America. He has worked in the majority of major venues as well as serving artists and tours. Arlan was the Director of Technical Division for Faust Harrison Pianos for 6 years and Director of Technical Division and Concert/Artist Services with Klavierhaus for three years. He regularly assists concerts and recordings in New York City and frequents major venues such as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Town Hall. Arlan combines “in the trenches” knowledge and experience combined with a holistic approach to solving problems using a wide variety of tools and techniques. A few of the many artists Arlan has worked with include: Lang Lang, Ivgenni Kissen, Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea, Angela Hewitt, James Levine, Louis Lortie, Yuja Wang etc… Arlan is currently owner of Arlan Harris Pianos and Atelier and Arlan Harris Productions.

Elizabeth is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music in Piano Education and the North Bennet Street School. She has had the pleasure of working for Jude Reveley and Christopher Brown, among others. Her career has included working under Kevin Stock and Doug Hershberger at the Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles, CA, as well as piano service and restoration with PianoCraft. Elizabeth is humbled to be the first female piano technician for the President’s Own Marine Band, a position that brings her work into the White House. She regularly maintains concert instruments for numerous performance venues in addition to her private clientele in and around Washington, D.C. When not restoring and servicing pianos, she can be found doing traditional stonework, timberframing, and hewn log cabin building.