Tip sheet: a ‘pianoman’s’ passion

As the holidays approach, so do thoughts of gathering around a piano to sing or simply to listen to traditional tunes. Few people, however, feel so passionately about pianos that they want to dedicate their lives to the instrument.

Robert Grijalva [Gri-HAL-va], University of Michigan director of piano technology, considers himself a master of the piano “machine.” He makes a living making campus pianos sound and look good. Grijalva works with pianos worth up to $100,000, tuning them and restoring them, often rebuilding or erecting. Grijalva attributes his passion to his appreciation of the piano as a technical machine as well as a piece of art, and he considers himself lucky to have found the perfect career that allows him to be both a technician and an artist.

Maintenance of more than 230 pianos throughout the U-M campus is in Grijalva’s control, but he says that the part he enjoys most about his busy job is sitting down and playing each piano that he has just brought to top form, a golden moment that only piano technicians get to enjoy.

For more information, contact Robert Grijalva at (734) 764-6207 or e-mail at pianoman@umich.edu.