Home concerts For the first century of the piano’s existence it was either a solo instrument or it was used to entertain very small audiences in the private-- albeit large--homes of the wealthy. To force the piano to accommodate the very large halls and audiences of today’s concert halls the piano has been pushed to produce enough acoustical power to fill these halls with enough sound that even those sitting in the seats way up in the back can still hear what is going on. Unfortunately this power has come at the expense of musicality. For a growing number of music lovers an alternative to the large, professional concert arena has been the “home concert.” These are concerts performed in private homes with much smaller audiences; typically twenty to forty people. Local musicians are given an opportunity to perform in a small and intimate environment without the pressure of a formal concert stage and without the presence of the professional critic. There are many formats for these concerts. In our case we have enough room and seating for twenty-five to thirty audience members. We also have a variety of interesting pianos coming though our workshop. The first of these concerts will feature an early 20^th century Everett grand piano. This is a small instrument that has been rebuilt with the scaling and hammer selection representative of the rich, warm sounds of the mid- to late-1800s instruments. Descriptions of this piano and its acoustical performance have appeared on Piano World’s Piano Forum. We will provide refreshments although audience members are encouraged to bring their own specialty items to broaden the selection. An extra bottle of wine is always a nice addition. While there is no ticket charge for these concerts a generous donation for the artist is always appreciated. If you are interested in participating in one of these concerts--either as an artist or as an audience member--please contact us. Upcoming conferences and seminars Over the past four decades my design and remanufacturing seminars have been held as far away as Italy, Australia and China and as close as Bellevue, Washington. The next scheduled seminar is going to be held this spring in Los Angeles, California, and is being sponsored by Young Chang North America. May 16, 2011 Los Angeles, CA Details to follow Technical seminars for technicians From time to time we offer 2- and 3-day in- house seminars for technicians and rebuilders. These seminars are in-depth studies on piano technology and include such topics as string scale design, soundboard and rib design and construction, understanding the relationships between stringing scales and soundboard function and related studies. Watch this space for information on our next seminar. News & Events ...what we’re doing, where we’ve been and where we’re going © 2011 Fandrich Piano Company, Inc.