January 16, 2003

On the job: Bill Schwartz

Name and title: Bill Schwartz, piano technician, School of Music.

What he does: He tunes, repairs, and rebuilds pianos in the keyboard maintenance department.

Troubleshooter: He inspects all of the school’s pianos, looking for broken strings, unglued pieces or troublesome noises. The workshop is located in the Parkes Hall basement.

Concert quality: It’s a treat to work on the old pianos here. To be able to restore them to original condition is very rewarding, he says. He notes students and faculty are high-level clients who expect their instruments to be in concert quality shape.

Quoted: “We’re like race car mechanics. We can’t drive like the drivers do, but we can do things to the car they can’t.”