BIO
John W.Keane began working on pianos in 1981. He graduated from INDIANA UNIVERSITY in 1986 after serving
as a work/study piano technology student at the IU SCHOOL OF MUSIC. After graduation he pursued a career
in stringed instrument repair while working at some well known music shops such as:
ELDERLY INSTRUMENTS (Lansing, MI),
WOODWIND AND BRASSWIND (South Bend, IN),
QUINLAN & FABISH (Chicago, IL)
and WILLIAM HARRIS LEE VIOLINS (Chicago, IL).
These shop experiences provided a broad background in all manner of fretted and orchestral stringed
instrument repair work. Not wanting to let the dust settle on his hard-won piano servicing skills, Mr. Keane
got back into piano service work in 1996 in Chicago. He joined the PIANO TECHNICIANS GUILD (PTG)
passing all his REGISTERED PIANO TECHNICIAN (RPT) exams in 1997. Specializing in piano action
restoration and service, John has been rebuilding, tuning and servicing pianos for SCHMITT MUSIC
(Minneapolis Steinway Dealer) since December of 2000. John completed an Advanced Training Seminar
at STEINWAY New York in October 2008. John also completed a nine month full-time program in Wood
Finishing Technology at DAKOTA COUNTY TECHNICAL COLLEGE (Woodfinishing.org) in May 2008.
John maintains a regional private piano tuning and restoration business called PRIOR LAKE PIANO SERVICE
as well as continuing to do stringed instrument repair work through his own REDTOP RESTORATIONS.
Furthermore, as of 2014, Mr. Keane has been appointed a Certified Technical Examiner by the Board of Directors of the Piano Technicians Guild. Beyond being a certified RPT (Registered Piano Technician), Mr. Keane also has been certified to prepare and administer examinations for the Piano Technicians Guild.
