August 2017

Summer is here! John Lambert enjoys this year’s sunshine.Oh the glamour of working at the Glastonbury Festival!

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Editorial — 4President Writes — 5Membership News — 6PTA Badges for Sale – Members only — 7PTA Useful Contacts — 7PTA Library — 7The Hybrid Piano Technician? — 8Bösendorfer Piano Launch — 9Steingraeber & Söhne Factory Visit — 10New PTA Forum — 12PTA Piano Sales Encouragement Scheme — 13Blüthner Training Day — 14Meet the President, Barry Caradine — 17Letters to the Editor — 19Council Report — 22PTA Diary of Events — 23

The next deadline for PTA News is: Friday 29th September 2017.PTA News is the Newsletter of the Pianoforte Tuners’ Association. All views expressed are

those of the contributors, not necessarily reflecting those of the PTA or the editorial team.Please send items for publication to ‘The Editor’, preferably via email with photographs sent

separately from the text. Posted items can only be returned if accompanied by an SAE.Please obtain the necessary permission before submitting copyright items.

PTA News, 49 South Hamilton Street, KILMARNOCK KA1 2DTEmail: ptanews@pianotuner.org.uk

To advertise in PTA News, at very reasonable rates, please contact:Tania Staite, Tel: 020 8677 4422

Flat 8, Deepdene, 15 Streatham Common Northside, London SW16 3HQEmail: advertising@pianotuner.org.uk

CONTENTS

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The lovely photograph of John Lambert at Glastonburyseemed perfect for a front cover of a summer issue of the PTA Newsletter.Then you realise that John has had to tune not one but two SSODs!

Dr Alastair Laurence has written to me as Editor (p 20) to request supportfrom PTA Members to help deny a Chinese piano company from obtaining atrademark which is a Latin translation of his own firm’s name. Please read hisletter and take action to support our Patron in return.

Following the letter from Peter Crunden about possible changes from theHMRC on Page 29 of the June PTA News, I have received an articleexplaining the current position regarding ‘Making Tax Digital’ which will bepublished in the next edition.

Annette Summers has asked me to remind Members that there are new iron-on (or sew-on if you prefer) badges as well as the enamel pin badges for sale.There are photos of these items on page 7.

PTA Librarian, Martin Backhouse requests that the person who borrowedthe Owen Jorgensen book to return the CD/DVD which accompanies it.

My apologies to Michelle Rudd for having overlooked her article from lastOctober. As promised, it appears here on page 8.

I would have liked to have attended the launch of the new Bösendorferpianos in March this year but circumstances prevented this. Andrew Jamiesondid attend and his article about this event is on page 9 with some furtherphotographs on page 19.

The joint IMIT and PTA visit to the Steingraeber & Söhne Factory seems tohave been a great success. There will be further reports in the October PTANas other attendees have written about their experience of the visit. I would begrateful for more photographs to accompany these write-ups.; please email meany that are different from those here. Andrew Giller’s account is on page 10.

Thank you to PTA Students James Webb and Julian Dendy for their articlesabout the Training Day held at the Blüthner Piano Centre in London recently;these are on pages 14 and 15.

New PTA President, Barry Caradine, has written a “Meet the President”article (page 17) to introduce himself to everyone.

Please note that deadlines for articles etc. for the Newsletter are beingstrictly adhered to in order to produce the Newsletter as close to the ECMeetings as possible.

EDITORIALANNE BURTON

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THE PRESIDENT WRITESBARRY CARADINE

Summer is here and with it a new batch of students freshfrom college begin their chosen career. Of course, we all wishthem the best of luck but how can we as an Association help them find theirfeet and carve out a living in our trade?

The greatest asset of our Association is its Members. Through the PTAI have built up a network of colleagues and friends, not only in the UK but inEurope and beyond, whose knowledge and support has been invaluable. I havetravelled extensively visiting many factories and places I would not have seenif it were not for the PTA.

I am heartened to see many of the students becoming more involved in PTAevents. A good number attended the Convention and many attended the recentPTA day at Blüthner in London. All I can do is stress how important I feel thisis for you in your chosen career. The wealth of knowledge and experiencewithin the PTA Membership is far greater than any college alone can provideand one of the greatest pleasures in this job is that you never stop learning.

To PTA Members I say: give a student a helping hand and advise themwhen you can. If they find a problem try and help them. To all students (inparticular those who have just graduated) I say: ask for help when you need it,attend as many PTA events as you can, join the Forum (where if you have aquestion it will be answered quickly), and become involved in yourAssociation; you won’t regret it.

Everyone should remember the PTA is for the benefit of all. If there issomething you think we should be doing please let me know; we can’t think ofeverything. I can easily be contacted via email onbarry.caradine@pianotuner.org.uk. I look forward to hearing from you.

Barry CaradinePTA President

DEADLINE FOR PTAN ARTICLES: FRIDAY 29th September 2017

Please email articles, letters and photos to: ptanews@pianotuner.org.uk orpost them to the address on page 3. Please email photographs and textseparately. Photographs within documents generally are not of a sufficientlyhigh quality for the print process.

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MEMBERSHIP NEWSANNETTE SUMMERSWe welcome new PTA Patrons:

P1408 Mr Nick Rusling Coach House Pianos878 Carmarthen Road

SWANSEA SA5 8HR Tel: 01792 584584 Web: coachhousepianos.co.uk Email: info@coachhousepianos.co.uk

P1410 Mr Mark Crossland The Piano Man 168-170 Easterly Road LEEDS LS8 3AD Tel: 0113 240 8030

Email: mark@thepianoman.ltd.uk

We welcome new PTA Students:

S1409 Elisabeth D Salverda 93 Fortis Green Road Muswell Hill LONDON N10 3HP

Email: elisabethdamai@gmail.com

S1411 Mr Matthew T Gibbs 907a Oxford Road READING Berkshire RG30 6TP Tel: 07824 337274

Email: matthew@dgibbs.net

Please note these changes to the 2017/2018 Yearbook:

1171 Mr William Catterson (new mobile number) Mob: 07858 787820

PTA Member 1171,Mr William Catterson,has recently had histools stolen while hewas working in a churchin Lewisham. As thecircumstances mean thathe is not eligible forreplacement through theTool Protection Scheme,he has asked if anyMembers could help him,particularly if Membershave surplus tools thatthey would be willing tolet him have. William islooking to replaceregulation tools, uprightkey easing pliers, centrepin cutters and histuning lever withinterchangeable heads.

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951 Mr Peter Emberley (new email) Email: emberley.peter@gmail.com

S1345 Mr David Henderson Henderson Music Ltd 11 Bishop Street LONDONDERRY Northern Ireland

BT48 6PL Mob: 07711 117102

Please send all changes of address, telephone and email to The Secretaryusing the contact details on Page 23.

IRON/SEW-ON PTA BADGESNew iron-on or sew-on badges are available from the PTA Secretary at a costof £6 for a single badge or £10 for two. Enamel pin badges are £5 each.

Members only

USEFUL PTA CONTACTSptanews@pianotuner.org.uk Tel: 01563 551530secretary@pianotuner.ork.uk Tel and Fax: 0845 602 8796advertising@pianotuner.org.uk Tel: 020 8677 4422Librarian, Mr M Backhouse Tel: 01686 627970

PTA LIBRARYBY MARTIN BACKHOUSE

Please would the borrower of the CD/DVD that accompanies the book“Tuning the Historic Piano by Ear” by Owen Jorgensen please return it to thePTA Library. Please inform me if it has been lost.

Suki, Rick Ohlendorf’s cat,photographed by Eri Onami

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A few weeks ago I went into the main music shop in York. All theirpianos are in a basement room, and every single one of them is digital.But then I came across a black polyester Yamaha upright which had a windowin the top door which showed the action. Aha, I thought, at least there’s oneacoustic piano I can try, which I did. For a few moments I was convinced Iwas playing an acoustic piano, but then noticed that the action didn’t have anyhammer heads! Nor were there any strings behind them! I’d been completelytaken in because it felt as if I was playing an acoustic piano. If not for thatwindow, how much longer would I have been convinced? Because not onlythat: Yamaha have developed ‘resonance simulation’ to mimic the sound ofundamped strings. (We all knew this would come eventually, didn’t we?)They also use samples from their flagship CFX acoustic Concert Grand. I mustsay, I was very impressed. And if someone with my experience is impressed,their customers will be even more so.

Scary? In a way, yes. People who buy pianos for the first time often opt fora digital one – and why not if it suits their lifestyle and budget? I’ve lost manycustomers over recent years who’ve upgraded from their ‘old-fashioned’getting-a-bit-elderly traditional upright, to something digital. I now have totravel further for a day’s tuning than I used to do. Serious students of classicalpiano music often upgrade to an acoustic piano, but now they have anotheroption: a Hybrid piano which feels and sounds like the real thing.Consequently, many of our future clients may only want the services of apiano technician about every 5 years to regulate the action. But will the actionever need an overhaul? By the time the butt leathers, notches, and check feltshave worn out, and the centres are loose, will the electronics still befunctioning properly? If not, the spare electronic parts probably won’t beavailable – electronic obsolescence.

So, that leaves the late 21th century piano tuner/technician with thefollowing career prospects: Regulating and very occasional overhauls ofhybrid piano actions; A small number of acoustic pianos in an ever-widergeographically spaced working area for tuning and repairs; And maybe he/shewill need some basic training in electronic music technology repairs?

It’s certainly ‘a brave new world’ approaching for our industry.Approaching retirement, I only need to work part-time now, so I have to admitit doesn’t worry me. But new entrants to our profession have certainly gotsomething to think about!

THE HYBRID PIANO TECHNICIAN?BY MICHELLE RUDD

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BÖSENDORFER PIANO LAUNCHBY ANDREW JAMIESON

Back in February I received a call from Thomas Haydneyof Marksons Pianos in London inviting me to attend the UK launch of the nextgeneration of Bösendorfer pianos; the new 280 Vienna Concert Grand (9’) andthe 214VC (7’) Grand on 7 March 2017 at the Conway Hall in London. It was an interesting day with around sixty or so invited guests assembled,including representation from all of the Royal Schools of Music, the EuropeanPiano Teacher Association (EPTA), the ISM and most of the music publishinghouses, including ‘International Piano’ and ‘Pianist’ magazines. I had thepleasure to sit beside Ronald Stein, an advertising consultant but better knownto the music world as the sketch artist, a man who has had his work featured inour very own PTA News.The day was split into the usual opening introductions with a wonderful pianorecital from Aleksandra Mikulska who delighted the room with a programmeof Chopin, List, Mozart and Beethoven.

A tasty lunch was provided together with refreshments. The afternoon session was given over to Ferdinand Bräu, Senior ProductDesigner for Bösendorfer, who gave an in-depth technical session; a superbpresentation and hands-on masterclass on the concept and design of a trulywonderful piano. It was great to be able to attend this event with another fourtechnicians and meet people who were not PTA Members. Having tried and heard the piano played, the 280 9’ gives a truly rich andclear treble married to the most rich and powerful bass section. This piano hasto be a piano that we will be seeing more of in our concert halls and studios inthe future.

The new 280 Vienna Concert Grand Andrew Jamieson Ronald Stein

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Congratulations to the IMIT for arranging this valuable visit to one ofGermany’s oldest established piano factories which included PTA members.The factory can easily boast the highest standards of manufacturing andinnovation steeped in tradition from their founding in 1820.

It has been a while since I last visited apiano factory and reminded myself thatrestoration work only touches the surfaceagainst starting from scratch to build a newpiano which is colossal! As we all know rimbending, soundboard curvature, cast ironframe finishing, induction hardening andveneering a concert grand lid in rosewoodare not to be sneezed at and fabulous towitness these processes first hand, along with every other skilled aspect ofmanufacturing. The factory is very acoustic conscious of all the material usedand views each and every component as a sound source. It was fascinating toappreciate high energy carbon fibre soundboards in some models, which arealso stable to climatic change and even the use of lightweight aircraft gradesheet material for grand piano lids, where the sound wave reflection andvibration will project sound over greater distances.

Our hosts Udo Steingraeber and Head of Production,Alexander Kerstan, enthusiastically took care of us inevery respect and it was fascinating to see the historicresidence with very early and rare nineteenth centurymodels of Steingraeber ‘forte’ and early overstrunggrand pianos. Udo explained the full company historyand how they strived to reach a wide dynamic range of

‘orchestral’ tone by the 1900s, demonstrating thehistoric and restored pianos in person. By contrast Alex,in their own custom built concert hall, explained muchof the technical aspects of the work and hammerproduction technique.

Renner produce hammers which are highly pointed and referred to as‘diamond shaped’ with consistency of the grain of the felt. He said how theremust be a narrow zone of light string grooves in the hammers to ensure the

JOINT IMIT/PTA VISIT TO THESTEINGRAEBER & SÖHNE FACTORYBY ANDREW GILLER

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best quality of tone which is specific to the Steingraeber sound. Several modelE concert pianos were to hand and we were able to appreciate the qualityof these, especially as one had recently been given a superb testament byAlfred Brendel.

The company is very friendly and congratulations to bilingual staff memberMartina who, in her other hat, is a tour guide and generously showed usaround Bayreuth. We were able to see the Wagner house and learn of hisimpact of residing in the city and transforming it into one of the major worldarts centres of today. It was a little unnerving to appreciate that just across theroad from the hotel is Liszt’s burial chapel, we were all in very good company!

I look forward to the planning of more factory visits and encourageeveryone not to miss these quite rare insights into our piano making world.I am sure we all pass on our sincere thanks to the Steingraeber factory and theIMIT organisation for making this trip possible.

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NEW PTA FORUMBY GARY WHITELAND

The PTA Forum is now up and running; here is an article on how to signup, get posting and receive notification of replies. The PTA Forum is set up ona Simple Machines platform and the registration page can be found here:

http://ptaforum.uk/index.php?action=registerPlease scroll down, click the term and conditions – you will then be taken

to another page where you will be asked to provide a username (please useyour actual name), your email and a password. The PTA Forum is hostedindependently of the PTA website so you will need a new username andpassword to use for the Forum. You will receive a confirmation email whenyour registration has been approved.The Forum can only be viewed when logged in, there are no pages the publiccan view. Here is a link to the Simple Machines Wiki with answers to anyquestions you may have: http://wiki.simplemachines.org Now you are signedup and logged in you can post to a board and reply to a topic.

Post a topic:Go to the board where you wish to post and click on the New Topic button

(positioned at both the top and the bottom of the board), which will take you tothe Start New Topic screen. While this presents a number of options, the twomost important are the Subject field and main text area for the message itself.Enter your subject and start typing (or paste) your message in the main textarea. Once you are happy with your message, you can post it by clicking thePost button and/or preview it first by using the Preview button.

Replying to a Topic:To post a message in an existing topic, click on the Reply button which is

located both at the top and bottom of the topic. When replying to a topic it isnot necessary to enter anything in the subject field unless you wish to changewhat is already there.

Attachments:     This feature allows you to attach files to your posts in the same way as

most e-mail clients. You simply browse the relevant files on your computerbefore selecting Post. Multiple attachments can be added to a single post byselecting the Additional Attachments link. Users can delete their attachmentsor add more by modifying their posts.

To modify a post:Select the Modify link or the icon and make your changes.

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To delete a post, select the Remove button followed by OK from theRemove this message? box that will appear. It is not possible for you toremove the first post in a new thread if replies have been posted.

Using Notifications:Subscribing to a Topic:There are two ways to subscribe to a topic: 1      When you are posting a reply, under Attachments and other options,you may check the Notify me of Replies box. 2      When you are viewing the topic, you may select the Notify button atthe top or bottom of the page. You will be asked if you are sure, select OK toconfirm the subscription.

Subscribing to a Board:To subscribe to a board, you may select the Notify button at the top or

bottom of the Message Index of the respective board.Unsubscribing from a Topic or Board:Once you have subscribed to a topic or a board, you may manage your

subscriptions in your profile, under Modify Profile > Notifications.On the Notifications page, you will be presented with a list of every

topic and board you have subscribed to. To unsubscribe from topics orboards, check the boxes for the respective topics and boards and then clickon Unsubscribe.

To quickly unsubscribe from a topic or a board which you are currentlyviewing, you may select the Unnotify button which is located above and belowthe topic display or the message index of a board

In the next issue of PTA News we will cover customising the look andlayout of the Forum and changing your profile.

PTA PIANO SALES ENCOURAGEMENTSCHEMEWe are pleased to announce that commission has been paid by the followingdealer under the PTA Piano Sales Encouragement Scheme:

VALE PIANOSThrockmorton Road,

ThrockmortonPERSHOREWR10 2JY

Tel: 01386 860419www.valepianos.co.uk

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On Saturday 24th June, Blüthner hosted a Masterclass in their LondonPiano Centre. The Masterclass was taken by Dr Ingbert Blüthner-Haessler,who has managed Blüthner for many years, and his son Knut Blüthner-Haessler, who is in charge of production and all technical aspects.

The day started with a sales talk on the history of the Blüthner Factory andthe Blüthner family. The morning then moved on to Dr Ingbert Blüthner-Haessler showing us the regulation of a Grand Piano, highlighting thedifferences of the Blüthner action. I gained valuable experience from being

shown and participating insome tasks, along with beingin direct contact withmasters who have beenbuilding and working onpianos for generations.

As a student entering histhird year of studying underJohn Lord at Newark,alongside working atIntermusic, it was great tointeract with Blüthneremployees and increase

connections within the piano world. Personally, I believe this is one of themain benefits of joining the PTA, as I learn something from almost everyonewithin the PTA network that I am fortunate enough to meet.

BLÜTHNER TRAINING DAYBY JAMES WEBB

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BLÜTHNER TRAINING DAYBY JULIAN DENDY

Blüthner’s are amongst the greatest piano houses of alltime, founded in 1853 along with Steinway and Bechstein. They were hugelysuccessful for many years up to the Second World War, but were crippled bythe interference of the post war East German government. Recently they havebeen recovering their reputation amongst musicians, so the invitation to go andsee their new sales room in Baker Street and to have training and advice wastoo good to resist.

The day was opened by Dr Ingbert Blüthner-Haessler and his son Knuttaking us through a brief history of their company and its current range ofacoustic pianos. Like many modern piano companies they have a three tiersystem, headed by the traditional Blüthner piano, then the mid-range Haesslerline, and lastly the entry level Irmler instruments.

Much of Dr Blüthner-Haessler's discussions about servicing a moderngrand action would be familiar to the people in the audience, but there weresome genuine surprises, including the system of guide springs in the cheek-blocks that firmly lock the keyboard in place. Another was the very effectiveand unique way Blüthner angle the bass hammer heads, allowing them to begang-sanded together, speeding up the whole process and ensuring a muchbetter initial hammer to string fit.

Blüthner have always been a boldly innovative company, not frightened togo their own way. The result is that many of their earlier pianos have uniquecharacteristics that have to be understood to service the instrument properly.Again, Dr Blüthner-Haessler stepped up to help. The Blüthner patent action isalmost as old as the company itself, and it was the mechanism of choice foralmost all of their grand pianos up to the First World War. It is deceptivelysimple, with a multitude of traps for an unwary technician. Some of theregulating tips are counterintuitive, such as the hammers actually resting onthe rest-rail rather than floating above it.

Lastly, the signature Blüthner aliquot stringing was discussed. The oldsystem had the tenor aliquots tuned an octave above the note's pitch, while thetreble section was tuned to pitch. Modern Blüthner grands have removed theold raised brass aliquot bridges, with the extra string now on the same bridgeas the rest of the strings. All the strings are now tuned to the same pitch as thespeaking strings.

Blüthner pianos are renowned for their warm singing tone, and tounderstand this we were given a demonstration of voicing techniques used in

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the Blüthner factory, followed by the chance to try them out on an Irmler babygrand.

The day was concluded with a wonderful concert on a Blüthner model 1concert grand by Mitra Alice Tham. She courageously rounded off her recitalwith an improvised theme and variations, with the melody provided on the dayby none other than PTA Student, Robyn Sellman.

In summary, a wonderful and informative time. My thanks to go everyoneinvolved in this event; the PTA for organising the day, to Stuart Kernaghan forgiving us the use of the pianos and the showroom, and to the Blüthner-Haessler family for coming all the way over from Germany. I'm especiallypleased with the perspex Blüthner voicing block that was provided to all theparticipants at the end of the day. And lastly, a note to all who were unable toattend the event. Blüthner’s have a very generous commission rate for all salesand restoration referrals made as PTA members to the London showroom.

*****Following on from a most successful Blüthner training day with 25

attending, General Manager Stuart Kernaghan wishes to clarify their SalesCommission Scheme open to all of the PTA.

“We are happy to pay PTA Members a commission for recommending ourpianos to their clients. On completion of a sale, Blüthner Pianos London willpay a commission of 10% of the profit. Worked out as follows – Selling price,excluding VAT, less cost of goods/stock = 10% commission.

The tuner is required to email or telephone the client’s details to amember of the Blüthner staff in advance and if possible, visit our showroomwith the client.

If you are passing anyway please do call in to inspect the range of Irmler,Haessler and Bluthner pianos with prices from £3,350 to £108,915.”

Blüthner Piano Centre, 6 Baker St, Marylebone, London W1U 6AZ020 7753 0533

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MEET THE PRESIDENT, BARRY CARADINE

It seems like only yesterday that I was leaving the London College ofFurniture and embarking on my career in the Piano trade. In the blink of aneye 29 years has passed. I consider myself lucky; a college course can onlyteach you so much and I have been fortunate in that over the years I have hadopportunities to receive further training working on top quality pianos withsome of the world’s best pianists. I worked for the Austrian pianomanufacturer Bösendorfer where the learning curve was steep but assisted byextensive further training in the factory in Vienna. My thirst for knowledgewas enormous and I enjoyed every moment of it. I worked for Bösendorfer fora little under 8 years covering all areas of technical work travelling throughoutthe UK. Things started to change with the sale of the company so I decided tomove on and set up my own workshop in Suffolk with my wife Roberta.

This involved another long period of extensive learning. Piano restorationhad moved on considerably from what we had been taught at college.The pianos we were working on were that little bit older, generally having been

“restored” in the past at least once before. New wrest planks, new soundboardsand bridges were the order of the day. It also coincided with the emergence ofthe Polish restoration companies – not very good business timing. This meantthe aesthetics (frame and soundboard finish etc.) had to be a much higher level,way higher than anything done in the past in the UK restoration trade. All ofthis was very hard and costly to learn, with extensive investment in machineryand tooling, but necessary in order to undertake this new type of restoration.

The final piece of this fell into place when we decided to undertakepolyester re-finishing. Fortunately I was able to call upon old contacts and went to Vienna with oursprayer to see how it was done. A full week of asking all sorts of questions,trying to cram as much knowledge in as we could, more investment inspecialist equipment, and we were ready to go. It took about 5 years ofcontinually pushing until we finally arrived at the quality we were happy with!

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More investment inequipment (fortunately forus, we were able to obtainsome equipment fromKemble as they closed) andthe quality jumped furtherto what we produce now,something as good as a newpiano. For this reason wehave many trade customersfor polyester finishing.

In our business all of thepiano work is undertaken

by Roberta and myself. For the past 2 years Roberta has also covered thespraying. We employ 2 people on the finishing side of the business, so we areonly a small company. Times are not easy, work sometimes hard to come by,but I like to think that we produce a high quality final product that will alwaysbe in demand.

One constant in all of my career has been the PTA. At college we were toldthat if we wanted the PTA to change you have to get involved and this is what

I did. The PTA has changedgreatly, I think mainly for thebetter. I have been on Councilmany times and an Examiner formost of my career. About 5 yearsago I stood away a little, wantingnew blood to bring in new ideas.Therefore I am honoured to havebecome President and in thisposition, I hope we can move thePTA forward to the benefit of all.

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I’m writing as one of the directors of a registered charity called RetrospectOpera: http://www.retrospectopera.org.uk/ We’ve recently launched a projectto make a pioneering recording of one of Charles Dibdin’s one-man musicalshows, “Christmas Gambols” of 1795.

In 1767, Dibdin (1745-1814) made history by becoming the first person inBritain to perform on a piano in public. In the succeeding years, he establishedhimself as Britain’s leading composer of comic opera, but in 1787 hediscovered that the one-man musical show suited his various talents the best.He called these shows “Table Entertainments” – he sat, or stood, at a piano andtold dramatised stories full of songs. Many of these songs gained hugecontemporary popularity and went on being a standard part of Britain’sstandard song literature for decades. “Tom Bowling” is, of course, still oftenperformed today. Yet no one has attempted to recreate one of these Dibdinshows before. Simon Butteriss will effectively become Dibdin for us, withStevie Higgins providing the accompaniment on a replica 18C forte piano.

We rely largely on crowd funding to make our recordings possible, but havealso obtained several grants and some commercial sponsorship. See here forlists of our existing supporters:http://www.retrospectopera.org.uk/Supporters.html Given Dibdin’s seminalrole in popularising the piano in Britain, would this resonate with yourmembership? Larger sponsors get their names prominently displayed on ourCD packaging, but donations of any size are most welcome.

It would be lovely to hear from you!

With all good wishes,David ChandlerRetrospect Opera

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Simon Markson at the Bösendorfer Piano Launch. Photographs by Andrew Jamieson

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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The Meeting of the Executive Council was held on 29th July,2017 at Robert Morley & Co Ltd., Lewisham.Present were: Barry Caradine (President), Andrew Giller (Vice-President),Annette Summers (Secretary/Treasurer), Andrew Jamieson and Tania Staite(Trustees), Roberta Caradine, Shaun McLoughlin, Ben Nolan, Nigel Polmear(Members), Lewis Flisher (Hon Council Member), Robyn Sellman and Jill Giller (Observers).The President welcomed everyone to the Meeting.Minutes of the last EC Meeting were approved. The only matter arising relatingto rates of pay was resolved. The Treasurer's report was approved.Correspondence had been received from Mr Long and Mr Sherlock and thepoints they raised were duly noted by the EC. Mr Jamieson had received a letterof thanks for the recent Convention.There were no Test results. Two candidates are booked for a Test in November.The Secretary received two Student and one Patron applications. A simplerTechnician Test, devised seven years ago, was ratified by the EC and it is hopedto offer a Test date to coincide with the September Council Meeting.The Delegated Duties were allocated as follows:Advertising and PR – Sean McLoughlin. PTA Publications Advertising – TaniaStaite. Complaints Officer – John Lambert. Convention – Andrew Jamieson,Sean McLoughlin and Roberta Caradine. Europiano – Brian Frost.Library – Martin Backhouse. Membership Test – Andrew Jamieson andBen Nolan. Professional Development – Andrew Giller and Nigel Polmear.PTA News – Anne Burton. Website & Social Media – Roberta Caradine andRobyn Sellman. Yearbook – Brian Frost.It was agreed that the Membership and wider trade should be asked for views onthe Association and its future role. This will be in the form of a brief electronicsurvey which should be conducted before the end of 2017.Any other business: A Member has had his tools stolen and now has the use ofthe emergency tool kit. However as the tools were stolen from a bicycle pannierand not a locked vehicle, the Replacement Tool Scheme could not beimplemented. If any retiring Members have tools looking for a new home, pleasecontact the Secretary, Annette Summers.The next Executive Council Meeting is scheduled for Saturday 30th September2017 at 12 o’clock at Robert Morley & Co Ltd., Lewisham.Observers are welcome at all Council Meetings.A full copy of the Minutes is available from the PTA Secretary.

PTA COUNCIL REPORTROBERTA CARADINE

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Executive Council MeetingNoon on Saturday 30th September at Robert Morley & Co Ltd, LewishamPTA Scottish Autumn Dinner, Saturday 11th November 2017Stirling Highland Hotel, following on from the Europiano Delegates Meeting

Executive Council MeetingNoon on Saturday 25th November at Robert Morley & Co Ltd, Lewisham

Executive Council MeetingNoon on Saturday 27th January 2018 at Robert Morley & Co Ltd, Lewisham

Executive Council MeetingNoon on Saturday 24th March 2018 at Robert Morley & Co Ltd, Lewisham

Convention with A.G.M. 10th to 12th May 2018,Blackwell Grange Hotel, Darlington

Convention with A.G.M. May 2019Suggestions for suitable venues and classes welcome.

For enquiries, PTA goods, changes of address or contact details:Mrs Annette Summers, PTA SecretaryPO Box 230HAILSHAMBN27 9EATel: 0845 602 8796 Email: secretary@pianotuner.org.uk

PTA DIARY OF EVENTS

PTA Executive Council 2017Front: Andrew Giller (Vice-President), Barry Caradine (President), Annette Summers (Secretary and Treasurer)

Back : Shaun McLoughlin, Roberta Caradine, Andrew Jamieson, Ben Nolan, Nigel Polmear, Tania Staite, Lewis Flisher