Our story begins when Mr. Biggerstaff left the Chickering piano factory to start the Piano Tuning Program at Northeast Missouri State Teachers College (now Truman State University) in Kirksville, Missouri in 1922. Among his students was a talented musician and eager entrepreneur, Stanley Shaw.
Stanley graduated from Mr. Biggerstaff's technology program in 1932. Later, he would open Shaw Music in Jefferson City which eventually expanded to 3 stores throughout Missouri. Mr. Shaw went on to train 2 piano technicians; his son-in-law Gus Schwartz, and Smokey Burd.
Allen "Smokey" Burd, a studio musician and guitar teacher at Shaw Music, was offered a piano tuner apprenticeship under Mr. Shaw. Smokey went into the piano tuning and repair business in 1964 and would go on to train his son Ronnie Burd, Terry Keeney, and his grandson Joe Kemple. In addition he taught piano tuning courses in South Korea, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Liberia.
Ron, a 2nd generation piano tuner, assisted Smokey in piano repairs part time for many years.
Terry became Smokey's competitor and remained a life-long friend.
Joe worked alongside his grandfather Smokey for over a decade, absorbing as much knowledge as he could.
Joe began working with his grandfather Smokey Burd at age 18, and is now enjoying his 35th year as a piano tuner. A certified Master Piano Technician, he has a wide range of experience, including having been on staff at Truman State University (where this story began 102 years ago), a tech for two different Steinway dealers, and as the tech for the largest music store in Norway. Joe is a lifelong musician and has performed in numerous groups - as a trumpet player with the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps, as a bass player in a hard rock band, and on keys in an experimental group.
Riley is a talented violinist and guitarist. He studied music performance in Oslo, and has performed in numerous ensembles including with his band which made it to the televised finals of "Norway's Got Talent".
Riley began his apprenticeship in the shop in 2017, and helps part-time with refinishing and restringing work. He joins us in the field during our busy times.
Ike, our youngest technician, has a background in mechanics, electronics, music composition and sound engineering. He is a natural when it comes to understanding piano actions and is a valuable asset to the team. Ike is our digital player piano specialist and a talented piano technician.