#Piano Finish Repair kansas city

[vanguardpiano]

Professional Piano Technicians In Saint Louis, Kansas City, and surrounding areas.

Visit Us : https://www.vanguardpianoservice.com/

[cvrsxn]

hello friends!! i haven’t played carson in a few years, so i’m basically writing a bio from scratch while drunk. we shall see how this goes lol

(JORDAN FISHER, CISMALE) - Have you seen CARSON JAMES? CARSON is in HIS SENIOR year. The MUSICAL THEATER MAJOR is 22 years old & is a CANCER. People say HE is ADAPTABLE, LOYAL, SUBMISSIVE and DETACHED. Rumors say they’re a member of WINTHROP SOCIETY. I heard from the gossip blog that HE’S LYING TO HIS DAD ABOUT WHERE HE’S GOING TO SCHOOL AND WHAT HE’S GOING FOR.

trigger warning: death

basic info

full name: carson robert james

birth date: july 7, 1998

pronouns: he/him

hometown: assaria, kansas

sexuality: bisexual

height: 5′9″

eye color: brown

hair color: brown

build: athletic

tattoos: none

piercings: none

style: because he’s on the low end of the totem pole in terms of status, he tries to look his best even if he can’t afford to look as good as the rest of campus

favorite color: blue

favorite food: burgers

zodiac: cancer sun, sagittarius moon, virgo rising

mbti: infj

hogwarts house: hufflepuff

enneagram: type 5 wing 4

temperament: melancholy-phlegmatic

alignment: true neutral

carson was born to rob and sylvia james, the middle child and only boy. because of that, it was always his destiny to someday take over the family car repair shop. james automotive was the sole reason people stopped in assaria, being as much of a drive-through city as it is, but the james family kept a good amount of business being the only mechanic within a 30 mile radius. carson was working under the hood of some practice junkers his father kept around by the time he was six, and it wasn’t just holding the flashlight. he wasn’t terrible at it, but it definitely didn’t come naturally to him like his little sister, katie. as much as carson loved his father, the man was very stuck in his ways -- stereotypical gender roles and all.

as for his mother, the most important thing to her was keeping music in their lives. if she didn’t have one of her favorite records playing, she was humming while she washed the dishes or tittering at the piano. she taught all of her children to play at a young age, and music spoke to carson in a way that cars didn’t. music was always for fun or relaxation or church, though; he never would’ve imagined having a career in music. and after sylvia’s untimely passing, music seemed to leave the house altogether.

besides church and working at james automotive, the only activity carson was allowed to participate in was baseball. being a diehard royals fan, rob was perfectly fine with his son cutting back hours at the shop when baseball season rolled around. and carson was good; the best third baseman the school had seen in over twenty years. he had universities scouting him left and right, but carson’s path was set. he’d finish an associates in business at the local community college, and then he’d work in the repair shop for the rest of his life. at least, that was the plan, before carson’s older sister, felicia, stepped in.

felicia had left the midwest for the east coast, and she was determined to get her brother out of kansas if it was the last thing she did. with katie’s help, they put together a “demo reel” of carson singing in the church choir and randomly around the house, complete with a scene katie had convinced carson she needed to practice for class. under the guise of a weekend trip to see his sister, felicia had set up an audition with yates university (and a few other schools for good measure). on raw talent alone, carson managed to make it into every single program. the only problem was telling his dad.

if carson had actually told his dad he wanted to major in musical theater, rob wouldn’t have even laughed; it would’ve just been a flat out “no”. his sisters swooped in again and convinced rob that carson had received a baseball scholarship to a nearby university, one that happened to have a top-notch business program. rob was a bit skeptical, but ultimately took their word for it. luckily for carson, rob never had the time to make a visit to campus, so they’ve been in the clear.

it was a long road trying to catch up to the rest of his peers in the theater department. the curriculum seemed to be set for people who already had at least a base knowledge in every area, and carson was still tripping over his feet in his jazz shoes. there were few who worked harder than him, though, and after his first year, he was able to hold his own. he still had a long way to go if he was going to compete with the people who just kept getting better, but if this was what he wanted to do, he was going to put his all into it.

at some point during his first two years, carson met and dated a girl (wc submitted to the main!!) and they were very serious, but for reasons that can be plotted out she broke his heart and it took him a long time to get over it. he started getting bigger roles in mainstage productions and that became his full focus. he couldn’t afford to get distracted.

as a senior, he’s really hit his stride. he’s performing better than he ever has, and he can even keep up in his dance classes. he finally feels like he can really do this, but he has no idea how he’s going to tell his dad after he graduates.

wanted connections will be posted tomorrow probably, since it’s after 10 and i have to be up in six hours for work 😬 like this post and i’ll come find you during free time at work though!!

[behindthebridgeblog]

Luthier Spotlight: Julie Reed-Yeboah

Julie Reed-Yeboah of Reed Yeboah Fine Violins, LLC specializes in cello, viola, and violin repair and restoration work. Since 2006, Julie has provided professional musicians around the world with expert workmanship and honest consultations. At the Contemporary Violin Makers Exhibition she hosted last year, Julie partnered with D'Addario's own Director of R & D Fan-Chia Tao to include an event called "Just Listen: Blind Testing the Sound of Contemporary Violins." Julie was gracious to tell us the story of how her practice came to be.

What is your earliest musical memory?

I grew up in a house full of music. We had 2 pianos in our house and everyone played. We had to share them among 6 people. My earliest memory is probably my father playing his “heavy handed” jazz on Sunday mornings or my mother playing hymns. I have 3 sisters, 2 of whom are many years older and they were also both playing flute, piano, and violin by the time I was born. We all started piano at age 5 and chose another instrument at age 7-8. I remember listening to Jacqueline DuPre and knowing that I had to play the cello.

What was your college degree?

I went to the University of Kansas for my first year and then transferred to the University of Nebraska, studying English with a music minor on cello. I fell in love with violinmaking and continued my studies at the Newark School of Violinmaking in Newark-on-Trent in the UK, receiving my diploma in 1979.

What kind of apprenticeship experience did you have?

While I was studying at the University of Nebraska I met David Wiebe, who was working at the time in Beatrice, Nebraska. He had studied in Mittenwald and I walked into his shop and saw a double bass that he was making and I was hooked. David was gracious enough to take me on as an apprentice as I had no woodworking or practical background. Violinmaking combined so many things that I loved - music, art, and science. David was a very patient teacher and really made the work exciting. I worked with David for 1 ½ years part time in preparation for starting in Newark. In Newark we were a class of 10 people and most of what we did was very practical work. My classmates included Roger Hargrave, John Dilworth, Anne Houssay, Joe Thrift, and Malcolm Siddall to name a few. We spent our time at school and at home making violins and we were also taught technical drawing, metal work and silversmithing. We also did a 3 week internship at W.E. Hill and Sons. It was a three year course and it was a wonderful time to experiment and to work and play hard.

Image courtesy of the Contemporary Violin Makers Exhibition

What age did you make your first instrument?

I was about 21 when I completed my first violin with David Wiebe. I used it as my test piece when I applied to Newark.

How did your practice come to be?

At the end of school in Newark we each had a meeting with Charles Beare, who was also an honorary director of our school. He made sure that each of us had a job at the end of school. I will never forget his generosity in helping us start our careers. I went to Bein and Fushi in Chicago and it was a very interesting place to work after being in England for 3 years and being exposed to the English shops of J&A Beare and W.E. Hill and Sons. I went back to Nebraska and helped David Wiebe make 3 cellos as I was not allowed to make cellos in Newark. I then moved back to England in conjunction with the Welsh School of Violinmaking and took a job as the County restorer and worked there for about a year. It was grueling but I rehaired so many bows and set up so many instruments that I felt confident in my set up work. This made it possible to get a job. I moved to Munich and after spending several months in an intensive German class, I started to work in the firm of Wolfgang Zunterer. It was a great experience to work in Munich and with so many talented violinmakers. I had to repair bows part time but I also was able to learn a lot about violin restoration and repair.

"Violinmaking combined so many things that I loved - music, art, and science."

I moved up to Bremen in 1983 to work in the firm of Geigenbau Machold where I knew a lot of makers from the English School. Roger Hargrave was the head of the workshop at that time and he had assembled an extraordinary group of restorers to make a world class workshop. I worked for Machold in Bremen for 10 years. Dietmar Machold gave us a tremendous amount of responsibility in his firm so it was a wonderful learning experience and time of growth as a restorer. I moved to Chicago in 1993 when I was hired by William Harris Lee to set up a restoration department. I got to know all of the makers there but mostly ended up just dealing with set up issues and not a lot of restoration. Machold wanted to open a shop in New York and so I moved with several other people from Bein and Fushi to New York to open the firm of Machold Rare Violins. It was a very interesting experience and I ended up working another 10 years for Machold.

When Machold decided to move his US office to Chicago I decided to stay in New York and start my own shop. Luckily for me I was taken in by the people from J&A Beare and they gave me a work space in their New York office. I did some work and helped with sales for them and I was also able to develop my own business. When J&A Beare closed their business here they were generous enough to let me take over their space. I have been working here for the last 10 years and have expanded the business to have 4 restorers in the workshop and office staff. We specialize in restoration and sales of fine stringed instruments. I spend most of my days doing sound adjustments, repair work, and consulting with clients when they are planning a big restoration or the purchase of an instrument. For the last 6 years we have also been organizing the annual Contemporary Violin Makers Exhibition. Yi-Ping Yang and I gather together a small collection of some of the best violinmakers from around the world and showcase them for discerning musicians and public. It has been a huge success and we are very proud to offer fine contemporary instruments to our clients. My business is always evolving and I hope to be able to continue serving our clients in New York City.

What is your favorite instrument from another maker?

Probably the early instruments of Roger Hargrave. He was making bench copies when we worked for Machold. He made several that fooled the experts but my favorite was a Cappa copy with Fleur de Lys in the corners.

What is your favorite story of an instrument you’ve restored?

My favorite was probably a Landolphi violin which had so much woodworm in the top that I had to find someone in Bremen to X-ray it so that I could follow the course of the worm and fill all of the cavities with small patches. Another was a Vuillaume cello that was burned from the inside (perhaps a cigarette had fallen inside). We worked as a group to remake the cello. The replica is floating around somewhere I imagine.

What is your favorite tool?

My favorite tool is either my knife, which I made in Newark and still use every day, or my soundpost hammer for violin adjustment because it allows me to make a very precise sound adjustment.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a luthier?

I probably would have continued studying English and become a teacher. I was also very interested in organic farming at the time. It is hard to say as violin work has been my passion my whole life and it has evolved into a career that I love.

What projects are you currently working on?

I am currently trying to run my business and so I have many projects. I do a lot of tonal adjustments and work with musicians to get their instruments working at their best. I sell bows, violins, violas, and cellos from the classical period up to modern. I spend a lot of time also meeting with violinmakers, looking for the best makers for our Exhibition. Our shop is located on Broadway near Carnegie hall and Lincoln Center so we have a lot of traffic. We work with many soloists, orchestral players, students, and collectors from all over the world. It is a very exciting business and wonderful to be surrounded with such talent.

What is the one thing that keeps you excited about this field?

It is a very interesting field which combines so many aspects of art, music, woodworking, chemistry, and physics. I think that it must be the fact that I have never felt that I have finished learning in this profession. In restoration, there is always a problem that has to be solved, and the same goes for making as we constantly search to improve, whether it be a better varnish or working method. We learn from each other. I think that violinmakers choose to be restorers because we often get to work in workshops bouncing ideas off each other and our work is one in which you should not see your personality but rather feel the satisfaction of making a crack invisible or making the instrument much more playable for the musician. We also get to work with older instruments from the classical period in an attempt to keep them preserved for the following generations of musicians and collectors.

Julie's shop is located at 1776 Broadway in New York, NY. The Contemporary Violin Makers Exhibition is held each October in New York.