<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content=text/html;charset=iso-8859-1 = http-equiv=Content-Type><!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 = HTML//EN"><!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: = 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A href="mailto:serbrunello@iol.it" = title=serbrunello@iol.it>Sergio Brunello</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" title=pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> January 24, 2094 4:13 = PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Europiano Congress = 2000</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 face="" size=2><FONT = face=Verdana>Dear list,</FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 face="" size=2><FONT = face=Verdana></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="" size=2><FONT face=Verdana>We wish to inform = about the European piano technician associations Convention that will be from 28 = May to 3 June in Italy.</FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="" size=2><FONT face=Verdana></FONT></FONT><FONT = face=Verdana> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="" size=2><FONT face=Verdana>For more = information see the following web page:</FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="" size=2><FONT face=Verdana></FONT></FONT><FONT = face=Verdana> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 face="" size=2><A href="http://www.ciresafiemme.it/Europiano/Default.htm"><FONT = face=Verdana>www.ciresafiemme.it/Europiano/Default.htm</FONT></A></FONT= ><FONT face=Verdana></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 face="" size=2><FONT face=Verdana>The = technical classes detail will be update as soon as possible. </FONT></FONT><FONT = face=Verdana> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 face="" size=2><FONT face=Verdana>We = beg to <FONT color=#000000>communicate </FONT>this event to everyone (technician, = musician etc.) that could be interest for.</FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 face="" size=2><FONT = face=Verdana></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 face="" size=2><FONT face=Verdana>You = are all welcome.</FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 face="" size=2><FONT = face=Verdana></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 face="" size=2><FONT = face=Verdana>Best regards </FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 face="" size=2><FONT = face=Verdana></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="" size=2><FONT face=Verdana>Eurocongress = technical committee President</FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 face=Verdana = size=2>          &nbs= p;    Sergio = Brunello<BR>          &= nbsp;     Treviso. = Italy<BR>          &nbs= p;   <A = href="mailto:serbrunello@iol.it">serbrunello@iol.it</A></FONT></DIV> <DIV> <HR> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>  <P class=MsoNormal>The Conference Sergio speaks of is being held in = the Val de Femme in the Italian Alps. If there is any way you can attend this = conference, I would encourage you to do so. It will be a most memorable = experience.</P> <P class=MsoNormal>As some of you know, I was invited to speak at = the Italian <SPAN style="COLOR: black">AIARP</SPAN> Conference in Osimo <SPAN style="COLOR: black">(a beautiful old city near the central Italian = Adriatic coast) </SPAN>this past September. My wife, Barbara, and I have many = fond memories of that Conference and of the more than one hundred wonderful = technicians who attended the Conference. The Conference itself lasted = three and a half days of straight lecture which, by itself, says something = for the stamina of the Italian piano technician! </P> <P class=MsoNormal>After the Conference we were treated to a = whirlwind tour of Northern Italy by Sergio Brunello, courtesy of the <SPAN style="COLOR: black">AIARP</SPAN>. We visited the incredible = Frasassi Caves in the Marche Province, the Schulze-Pollmann piano factory, the Fazioli = piano factory, the Ciresa soundboard factory in the magnificent <SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Val di Fiemme </SPAN>and, of = course, Venice. All of this was carefully monitored by frequent phone calls = from Luciano del Rio, the <SPAN style="COLOR: black">AIARP</SPAN> = president. (I think all Italians are issued a cell phone at birth…) Luciano = constantly checked on our progress and made sure we were in good hands. We were. = Sergio and his wife, Paula, were wonderful hosts and Sergio proved to be an = excellent tour guide.</P> <P class=MsoNormal>These people were wonderful. We were treated like = royalty throughout the entire trip. The conference was run smoothly and = competently which says a lot for the organizational skills of Luciano del Rio. My = class notes were Emailed to Sergio steadily through the summer. With the = help of his crew, he translated them all into Italian. Translation of the actual = classes was done by Valerio Sabatini of Rome. Valerio and I met for the first = time the day before the lectures began. He had no idea of how I was going to = present the lectures or my manner of speech. He is not a professional = translator, he is a piano technician. However, from the feedback I got from several = other technicians in the audience who also spoke both Italian and English, = he did an excellent job. </P> <P class=MsoNormal>We had never been to Italy prior to this trip. Of = course, we expected to see a beautiful country, and we did. We also expected = to find great food, and, again, we did. (How do those Italians manage to stay = so slim?) The real beauty of Italy, however, is to be found in the hearts = of its people. Without exception the people we met in Italy were warm and = gracious and it is they, even more than the beauty of the country, the art or = the architecture, that we will long cherish.</P> <P class=MsoNormal>All of this is to say that if you get a chance to = make this trip, by all means do so. Don’t worry if you don’t speak = Italian. You will get by just fine. If words fail you can always talk with your = hands—they will think you are a native Italian! Besides, I understand there will be translators for the actual classes.</P> <P class=MsoNormal>The location of this Conference is in the Val de = Fiemme which contains one of the oldest managed forests in the world today. = It was set aside for continuous, sustainable yield forestry practices in the = year 1111 and is now only one of two European forests to earn awards for = its forest management. This valley is incredibly beautiful and peaceful and would = be worth the trip even without the Europiano Conference. That will just = be frosting on the cake.</P></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>