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<DIV>When I was the tech at SUNY Fredonia, the president and
his wife were very big patrons of the arts. She hosted many
soirees featuring faculty and visiting artists as well as stellar student
performers. It was considered an honor and a privilege to be on her
invitation list, and I often was. She brought her 6' 4" Knabe, to the
mansion when they arrived. She loved the piano and the performers were OK
with it. It was understood (read "commanded") that her piano was to be
considered part of my workload, otherwise she would just commandeer an S&S
'B' from the School of Music, which piano had been assigned to the mansion
previously. All of this made great sense from many community relations
perspectives.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Eventually, she decided it was time to overhaul the action of her
Knabe. She proposed, and my boss agreed, that I would do the
project as part of my duties; she would pay for the parts. The piano
went from "OK" to "very satisfying" and she became an even
bigger supporter of the School of Music. Everybody won. (And in
a couple of years, she and her husband went on their way, as college presidents
do, with a nicely spiffed up piano, courtesy of SUNY.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>There was the usual array of pianos on campus beyond the School of
Music. These were not my responsibility, and some of those I never
saw. Others came under my care occasionally when they were used for SOM
performances. This also applied to a few other pianos around town, in
churches, etc. For a while the SOM found itself short of recital venues
and with a decent concert grand to spare. This piano was moved to the
Lutheran church across the street from the campus; very nice acoustics and
ambience. It became a favorite for student recitals - and of course the
church was free to use the piano for its own needs. Another win-win
situation.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Fortunately, I had a very good working relationship with the SOM and the
college. I was always involved in the discussions leading to these
'deals'. It really pays to nurture healthy relationships at all levels of
the musical community!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">~ Tom McNeil
~<BR>Vermont Piano Restorations<BR>VermontPiano.com<BR><BR>346 Camp
Street<BR>Barre, VT 05641<BR>(802) 476-7072</DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 6/12/2008 12:31:43 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
tannertuner@bellsouth.net writes:</DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>At South Carolina, I was always of the
impression I couldn't work for other departments as a contractor.
Other employees who had attempted to bill other departments for work later
were surprised when the amount was taken out of their
paychecks. I typically had to refer other departments to other
techs.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The school of music kept the President's House
piano, but was not responsible for any other departments, including the larger
performing arts venue next door that we regularly use for
performances.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jeff Tanner</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
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<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=mailto:wimblees@aol.com href="mailto:wimblees@aol.com">Willem
Blees</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=mailto:caut@ptg.org
href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">caut@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, June 11, 2008 2:18
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] Parts Mark up</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><BR>
<DIV id=AOLMsgPart_2_8d8a800c-6df4-44d6-89aa-eb2d74cbe8e4><FONT face=Arial
color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV>When I was at UA, my job was to tune the pianos at the SOM,
period. I was told specifically that all the other pianos on campus
should be treated as private customers. This included the President's
Mansion, the school's convention centers, the dorms, radio station,
etc. <BR><BR>Was this an unusual situation, or is the common
practice?<BR><BR>Willem
Blees<BR>Hawaii. <BR></DIV></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. <A title="http://citysbest.aol.com?ncid=aolacg00050000000102" href="http://citysbest.aol.com?ncid=aolacg00050000000102" target="_blank">City's Best 2008</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>