The area of downtown Greensboro, North Carolina south of the railroad tracks is known locally as Old Greensboro. A center for antique shops, it is also a thriving hub of artists and artisans. Across the alley from my studio is John Foy Piano Restoration. Run by John Foy, they specialize in maintaining, repairing and rebuilding grand pianos, primarily those made by Steinway and Sons. John has been doing this for about 27 years. He was trained as a classical pianist but began tuning and maintaining instruments. Soon, the need for repairing pianos arose and since he was familiar with woodworking from his father, he trained at North Bennet Street School in Boston, MA in piano repair and rebuilding. He and his staff now perform complete piano restoration in their Elm Street shop. For info, go to his website at http://www.johnfoypiano.com.
Below, John P. Johanson, a member of John's staff, works on rebuilding a Steinway piano. While the technology in these instruments is old, the craftsmanship needed to work on these beautiful pianos is truly an art.
(photographs copyright 2009 by Dan Routh)
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