Chris Grapentine has spent a lifetime in music.
My piano lessons began at age 5, but after five years I was playing the oboe and Little League Baseball. So I quit my piano lessons...the biggest mistake of my life! I didn't end up being a doctor, but going to the University of Michigan School of Music, getting Bachelor and Master of Music degrees and became a professional singer and voice instructor. Better piano skills would have helped.
So now I spend my life tuning and fixing pianos for others who can play. I have been tuning pianos for over 25 years now, having studied with Frank McKowen of Lansing, a Registered Piano Technician in the Piano Technicians Guild, and attending numerous workshops and conventions that the Guild offers. I do enjoy taking a piano that has "problems" and having it sound and play better when I leave. It is always my goal to give my customers the best workmanship and the best value possible for the care of their instruments.
Not all pianos are going to be played in concert. I try to understand the customers' needs, the amount they are able to spend, and the condition of the piano in making recommendations for the work to be done. Some customers want and need their piano concert-ready while others just want to keep the old piano around and in playable condition for occasional use. Whatever your needs I will give you quality work at the best price possible.
Besides my work as a professional musician, I'm a recently retired ordained minister. I served as the pastor of Northside Community Church in Ann Arbor for eleven years, and I have served numerous churches over the past 40 years as a pastor, associate pastor, Christian education director, choir director, youth leader, and even janitor, so I understand the workings and needs of the religious community. I have cared for the pianos at many churches, large and small, of many different denominations. It is especially gratifying to be able to offer my services to churches at a reasonable price since I know how stretched church budgets always are.
I also taught music, conducted choirs, led a college drama program, and have been married to a school teacher for almost 40 years, so I am well aware of the difficulties of keeping a school piano in good condition. From elementary schools to high schools to colleges, pianos get moved around, left unattended, battered, banged on, and sometimes have strange things dropped inside them. I can help with with dollies, locks, covers...whatever your piano needs to stay healthy. Give me a call!