Matt GuggenheimI owe the success of my career as a concert piano technician not only to formal training but to countless hours of invaluable hands-on experience. The year 1993 launched me into my dream career when I completed a grand regulation course at the North Bennet Street School of Piano Technology in Boston and worked full time replacing soundboards and pinblocks with George Crawford in Alston, Massachusetts. I continued to gain enormous amounts of experience working on pianos in schools, churches, and private residences.
In 2003 I moved to Portland, Maine to become the piano technician for the Portland Symphony Orchestra and Merrill Auditorium. In this position I not only work with world class artists but have the extraordinary pleasure of collaborating with music directors, event coordinators, facility managers, and other professionals behind the scenes. These individuals provide the platform for tremendous talent that comes to Portland; they are the backbone of great memories for all of us to cherish. I am honored to hang my hat here in Portland, where I remain to keep this magnificent New England city in tune. |
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MEDIA & TESTIMONIAL
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"Matt could field strip a Steinway in the wild."
– Joe Boucher, concert manager for the PSO, in Old Port Magazine, January/February 2017 link to full article: "Right in Tune" by Susan Axelrod [Guggenheim] tries to tune a piano to suit its owner’s, or player’s, personal style... “What I love is to read a piano, know what it can be, and try to achieve that at a reasonable price. It’s exciting to watch one come alive.”
– Portland Press Herald, October 16, 2011 link to full article: "Classical Beat: Career piano tuner in love with life's flats and sharps" by Christopher Hyde Just had my piano tuned by Matt Guggenheim. It’s hard to believe how much better it sounds. Matt is without doubt the pre-eminent tuner in Maine; just as important, he treats each piano as an individual, making the most of its unique characteristics and helping it to augment the player’s style.
– Christopher Hyde, classical music columnist |
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Our grand piano is a work horse... and so is Matt. From the jazz touch of Marcus Roberts to the ballads of Judy Collins, this piano gets a workout from a number of artists and genres under Matt's careful watch. He has taken what was kind of an ordinary instrument and gave it the color and character required for big-name artists and small. We are out in the willy wags, yet he never misses a tuning on our sometimes heavy schedule. And boy even with our fickle Maine weather his tunings sure do hold! Great ears, great touch and great guy. He is more than the average piano technician. Highly Recommended.
– Carol Noonan, musician and owner of Stone Mountain Arts Center
– Carol Noonan, musician and owner of Stone Mountain Arts Center
