World Piano competition

[Randy Chastain]

Gentlemen technicians,
Tuning for a piano competition can be very stressing, especially since  
we want to be able to do our best for everyone concerned. We generally  
aren't given the time so we do what we can, but I don't like that. I  
tune for the US Open Piano Competition in California (one of the  
largest open young persons competition in the US). We have 800  
entering and 7 performance pianos in 5 rooms, all Yamaha and 3-CFIII  
on the 2 big stages. Try to keep them all in tune 10 hours of  
concertos a day for 6 days. I was lucky? enough to gain entrance at  
10pm, which was the soonest they'd let me in, until sometimes 2 or 3  
am. I would stop by during the day to spot check them during the lunch  
break. There is no budget restraint since I do it for free. They bring  
me up on stage and promote me. I have gotten some work out of it, but.  
I'm also on the Board of Directors also. We are now working on getting  
some grants where there will be compensation. The USOMC has been  
around for 17 years and all volunteer. Sometimes I see a worthy  
project with all those children and I want to help promote it.

As a whole, we add to society and the future of music education with  
our work. We educate our clients, large and small, about the  
importance of having as good a piano as possible and proper  
maintenance. Most of them don't understand in this kind of competition  
piano requirements. They might know when they don't sound good but  
don't understand what it takes to keep them in good condition through  
out the competition.


Randy Ellen Chastain


On Jul 9, 2008, at 6:22 PM, bppiano at aol.com wrote:

> Boy, do I hear you.  I've tuned for the recently established Amatuer  
> Pianist International here in Colorado Springs for 5 years now.  We  
> have a nice Hamburg Steinway D for the stage.  However, the practice  
> rooms
> are not scheduled for any attention this summer.  I get about an  
> hour prior to the first event, and 15 minutes for lunch and other  
> breaks to touch up the piano.  Usually, a russian pianist comes in  
> for the final masterclass and recital.  Usually, a few requests for  
> regulation adjustments.  Of course, everything must come within  
> their budgetary limits.  I guess misery loves company.  Nice to know  
> I'm not the only one doing this dance.
>
> Bruce Pennington
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Shawn Brock <shawnbrock at fuse.net>
> To: Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Sent: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 6:04 pm
> Subject: World Piano competition
>
> Yes, I said the World Piano Competition.  So for anyone who might  
> have been the technician at this event in years past, you can laugh  
> at me this year!  I'm the sucker, OOPS, I mean technician for this  
> years competition.  I can't say that no one warned me about how it  
> has played out in years past.  This year is much the same, except I  
> got paid for my first week of work.  That's a step in the direction  
> of improvement I would say.  For those who are lucky enough to have  
> never come across this event I will give you a short run down of  
> what its like.  Its a 2 week affair with the first week being  
> devoted to juniors under the age of 16.  They are all vary good and  
> are thrilling to listen to.  The next week is the more competitive  
> portion of this event, with everyone battling it out on 1 S&S d.   
> Man can they pound the hell out of a piano!  I have been lucky  
> enough to come in each morning and find the piano in decent shape as  
> far as the tuning goes.  My time allotment is getting shorter how  
> ever.  When we started I could be in the hall at 7a.m, and they  
> wanted me off the stage by 830.  Keep in mind that was for 2 pianos  
> which were in use for up to 10 hours.  This week I only have 1 piano  
> to worry about.  So with less worries they decided to cut my time  
> back.  I was informed that I shouldn't inter the hall and start  
> before 9a.m.  "Oh, and could you be off the stage by 930?"  What the  
> hell are these people thinking?  Don't get me wrong, often I can  
> clean up/tune a piano in 30 or 40 minutes.  I would not want said  
> piano used for a performance though.  If a piano is on pitch, I like  
> to have about 1 hour or 75 minutes to do what I need to do, and that  
> is not for a 10 hour concert where the performers are possibly some  
> of the best new talent on the planet.  So...  Guess I'l l just go  
> and do what I can do.  If the piano maintains its stability as it  
> has I should not have a problem.  Guess I'm just complaining on  
> principle here...  Not to mention the fact that they cheated me out  
> of a tuning...  They don't want any of the practice room pianos  
> tuned.  Man, these things are so badly out I don't see how anyone  
> could stand to play them.  I had to fix a sticking key for one of  
> the players, did that one for free as well.  Well, he needed the  
> note!  It should be against the law for someone to bring these  
> people in and charge them all this money to inter a contest where  
> everything is so messed up!  I hate the lack of accommodations for  
> the contestants.  That bothers me more than anything.  Once I told  
> someone that the reason I chose to pick up the guitar as a kid was  
> because every piano I was around was out of tune and was  
> unplayable.  Oh, well, what do ya do?
>
> Shawn Brock, RPT
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