In October 2022 a 124-year-old Mason and Risch piano was donated to the Kimberley Friends Gallery by Christie and Brett Pighin. The idea was to have the instrument be available to anyone who wanted to come into the space and play.
The beautiful old instrument was in need of some work, and so fundraising was done and a an initial tuning and assessment was done by Kendall Hafermehl of Hafermehl Piano Services.
Hafermehl outlined the work needed and it is now underway as of Friday, June 2 until Saturday, June 3 and you are welcome to come by and observe the repair project take place.
READ MORE: Kimberley Friends Gallery raising funds to restore historic piano for community useHafermehl donated one day of the work, with the second day paid for through fundraising, including an art auction and a Sponsor a Key campaign.
In addition to some work on the exterior of the piano, the piano needs a thorough cleaning, tuning, some strings replaced, and a great deal of work on the action.
The 88 keys, Hafermehl, explained are a huge part of the project, as people who play the piano will be able to see and feel the work that’s been done on them, as opposed to the maintaining and optimizing work done to the action, which makes a huge difference, but is hidden within the instrument.
Hafermehl, who is originally from Calgary but now splits half his time between central Alberta and the Kootenays, has been running his business for 37 years.
Pianos have always been a part of his life. He started piano lessons at aged four and by the time he was a teenager he was quite advanced, and the family piano was in need of tuning almost on a monthly basis.
The family’s piano tuner was a family friend, working on their piano since Hafermehl was 4, and he started to mentor him.
“I caught interest in it and I found that I enjoyed that more than teaching piano, so I moved in that direction,” Hafermehl said. “Since then lots of training all through the years.”
After studying the art of playing the piano for 19 years, including four years at the Alberta Conservatory of Music, he taught private lessons for three years, all the while gaining experience in Piano Technology and then gained Master Craftsman status and became a Registered Piano Technician with the Canadian Association of Piano Technicians.
You can learn more about Hafermehl here: https://hafermehl.com/
Marta Zeegers of the Kimberley Friends Gallery said a concert to celebrate the completed project is in the works with a date yet to be decided upon.
paul.rodgers@kimberleybulletin
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