An Associates of Arts or Science in Piano Technology at Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, NY
Origins of the FLCC Program by Christopher Glattly
In the nineteen seventies, Owen Jorgensen, the piano technician at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, was preparing to publish Tuning the Historical Temperaments by Ear, a book that would that presented for the first time, a rather complete history and instructions for the tuning systems that are the foundation of Western music from the Renaissance to the present time. This book played a prominent role in the formative period of the "Early Music" movement, the performance of period music on period instruments. At the same time Mr. Jorgensen was designing a degree program that combined the best aspects of the residential piano technology training school with that of a conservatory of music curriculum with the goal of granting a Bachelors degree in music. As a result, he became Professor Jorgenson and the program turned out about sixty students between 1977 and 1993.
This era ended with Professor Jorgenson's retirement in 1993 from Michigan State but not before he published another and more prodigious work, Tuning: Containing the perfection of the Eighteenth-Century Temperaments, the Lost Art of Nineteenth-Century Temperament, and the Science of Equal Temperament, in 1991. Many former students of Professor Jorgensen are at large and employed around the country.
As a 1982 graduate I've been continuously grateful for this comprehensive education in music and piano tuning. It included much beyond the study of historical temperaments and the piano tuner's skill set. In fact, all of the graduates that I know would agree that something just as important and more subtle was transmitted to us by the time spent with Mr. Jorgensen and it came from the man himself. This something could be described as an approach and a professional conduct in the role of piano tuner that could be said to be equaninimous. Moreover, Professor Jorgensen fixed in his students a strong sense of historical place for our craft, which I've come to appreciate as an invaluable vantage point in the world of pianos and music making. It is this atmosphere that I have, with great consideration, replicated.
Prospective Overview
Academic:
The two-year program at Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC) is modeled after the Bachelors of Arts in Piano Technology that was available through Michigan State University form 1977 to 1993 (see origins). It is designed to provide the student with a thorough and affordable foundation in college level music. Faculty includes graduates of the Eastman School of Music working in a congenial atmosphere with veterans of the performance and recording business.
With an associates diploma in hand the graduate would be prepared to apply to College and Conservatory positions (which always ask for two years of post-high school education) or to continue into a Bachelors program having already established the skills for a viable career as a piano technician.
Technical:
The piano technology unit consists of four sequential semesters providing 6 credit hours (eight contact hours) per week, 15 weeks each semester. The program builds from the introduction of tuning theory and history, historical instruments and materials and follows Piano Technicians Guild guidelines (see www.ptg.org ) for training in tuning and servicing twentieth and twenty-first century instruments. Graduates are required to take the PTG tuning and technical exams to become a Registered Piano Technician (RPT).
Historical instruments are available on-site for individuals wanting specialty training on harpsichords or early pianos. Studio and concert stage pianos at the FLCC main campus in Canandaigua, Nazareth College and the Hochstein School in Rochester are available for training in the third and fourth semesters. Rebuilding shop experience informs the technology lessons from the outset and rebuilding work experience can be arranged on an individual basis.
Location:
FLCC (www.flcc.edu) is located at the south edge of beautiful and historic Canandaigua, NY, (www.canandaigua.com) a small city atop the western Finger Lakes district on Lake Canandaigua. It is a half an hour's drive south of Rochester, two hours east of Niagara Falls and six hours from NYC. It is 15 minutes south of the New York Thruway. A great variety of arts, activities, and sports are at hand or an easy drive. Lake access is near the campus as are restaurants and stores. A strong local economy provides the possibility of employment. The area is a mix of small city, specialty agricultural, and affluent suburbia.
Residential:
Residential options are private but affordable. Availability tightens at summers end in anticipation of fall semester at the college. A commitment for a FLCC residential hall is in place with plans for dorms to open by 2008.
Cost:
Tuition is based upon State University of New York rates (see www.suny.edu) with in-state and out-of-state levels in effect. Tool purchases will range from $300 to $3500 over a two year period. Books for the piano technology sequences (Temperament, S. Isacoff, Giraffe, Black Dragons, and Other Pianos, E. Good, Piano Tuning, Servicing, and Rebuilding, A. Reblitz, etc.) are all available commercially and not a significant cost.
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