Okay, so there were actually a few more things that happened before I left Arequipa.

I returned to La UNSA to work with the music students once again. This time, we pulled apart a Piano so they could see how it’s assembled. How the various pieces all fit together.

This is a rare opportunity. As a student, you don’t usually get the chance to take a piano completely apart, because once you open it up and start poking around, it can get really delicate. There’s a lot you have to learn in order to explore without doing any damage.

But I’ll come back to that.

Reconnecting with Hernando

I hadn’t seen Hernando in several months, and I’d been meaning to catch up with him. Actually, I’ve come to realize that I think of Hernando as a sort of guiding figure in my journey here. He’s been so helpful in connecting me to new friends and opportunities. I guess you could say he’s been my Yoda.

Well, this visit was no different, as he had a lot of great information and guidance for me. We talked about several things, including ideas for my still-standing goal to rebuild a piano here from the ground up. But when we talked about upcoming my trip, the conversation went down a path that would cause me to literally change course.

The only landmark I had for the following two weeks of my trip was a final stop in Cartagena, Colombia. From there I had a flight booked to NY. In the intermediate two weeks I wanted to go somewhere that was a bit more rural, that might offer some outdoor adventures. So when Hernando started to go through his contacts and offer me names of people I could reach out to, my first thought was that I probably wouldn’t have time to meet up with them. All the people he knew were in the major cities of Colombia like Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena.

As a student, you don’t usually get the chance to take a piano completely apart, because once you open it up and start poking around, it can get really delicate.

He knew a lot of people in Bogotá, because he used to be a cultural attache there. While here in Peru I’ve also been in touch with the Cultural attache at he US embassy in Lima. I like to think of cultural attaches as secret agents. In fact, according to Wikipedia “a legal resident spy operates in a foreign country under official cover…such as a commercial, cultural, or military attaché.” Whoa! Well I won’t jump to conclusions but they are like mysterious figures who go to foreign lands to investigate culture, and affect entire communities single-handedly. The thrill of adventure and mystery was beckoning for me to reconsider my plans.

It seemed there were a lot of possibilities in Bogotá, and Hernando told me about many different things I could do there. I decided that Cartagena could wait, and Bogotá would now be my destination. It’s amazing how dramatically your travel plans become shaped by the people you meet along the way.

The Monastery

When we were talking about my hopeful piano rebuild, Hernando mentioned that I should visit Santa Catalina Monastery before I left. They had a bit of a conundrum with their pianos, and he thought I might be able to help them out with my opinion.

I actually know the monastery well. It’s a big tourist attraction in Arequipa, full of colonial artwork and religous history. You can take tours to view all of the artifacts and learn about what’s happened there.

When I think of the word monastery, I think of monks, but this is a place where nuns came to study. In the past, it was a means for women to find an education. Upperclass Spanish families would choose one of their daughters to go to the monastery where reading, writing and study were just part of the program.

It’s amazing how dramatically your travel plans become shaped by the people you meet along the way.

I met Javier Velarde Talleri, who manages the properties of the monastery and he showed me their two pianos. One is an old Geyer (similar to the one owned by Juan Carlos), which had been with them for a long time. The other is a new Pleyel which they only recently purchased.

Now that they have this new piano, their plan was to sell the old one. But some people didn’t want to let the old Geyer go because they really liked it. Hernando thought, actually, that the older one might be a candidate for my rebuild project. When I checked it out, though, I didn’t think it was the right match.

However, It did get me thinking…

Looking back

My recent visit with Hernando was a little different from the others. The first time I came to his home it was very social, almost like a cocktail party with our wives. For my second time we spent an entire day working on his Steinway, and I met some of his family.

This time, it was just Hernando and I, sitting in his living room, talking. Well, his dog was also there, but the pup didn’t have a whole lot to say.

Hernando and I spoke about a lot of personal topics, and I opened up to him in a way I hadn’t before. He listened carefully, and was kind and thoughtful in his responses. When you tell a person about your life like that, I think you learn a lot about them from the way they respond. I told him how vulnerable this project makes me feel some times. I follow my heart about where to go and what to do. But there’s no sure path.

There’s a reason all those strings, hammers, pegs and delicate mechanisms are encased in a sturdy wooden exterior, surrounded and protected from harm.

Still, he told me something that struck a chord. He told me that someone like me, who is maybe more sensitive than most, has to be careful when opening up and becoming vulnerable. It’s easy to get hurt. He advised me to make sure that I maintain a protective shell, too.

I couldn’t help but think back on the piano at La UNSA. While it was fascinating to pull it apart and investigate its inner workings, and we all learned a lot about the piano by doing so, we did have take care and use a delicate touch.There’s a reason all those strings, hammers, pegs and delicate mechanisms are encased in a sturdy wooden exterior, surrounded and protected from harm.

This image stayed with me as I prepared to finally leave Arequipa.

About this series: Floating piano has come to be internationally known, and thanks to the internet we’re getting inquiries worldwide about our top-rated apprenticeship program. This has inspired us to try to connect with international piano lovers in person via some transcontinental traveling. Eathan Janney, lead technician and founder of FPF will be visiting Peru to search for human connections through pianos. Meanwhile our star apprentices Daniel DiMaggio, Bimol Karmaker and Tom Erickson are manning the ship at home in NYC, ready to tune your piano to the highest standards.

As a “Goodwill” Ambassador, FPF assigns itself the task of connecting with piano owners in various locations and exploring the histories of their pianos. We will document these adventures and stories, and as a gesture of good will, offer to tune the pianos for free. Piano tuning is our business, but we are also fascinated with the non-transactional aspects of a piano tuning visit: the interaction with a piano owner, the sharing of music, the caring for an object that has a life history of its own. Music is a global phenomenon that exists outside of the physical, political, and national boundaries that may separate us. We would like to highlight these factors by making connections through pianos and sharing these stories with you.

Special thanks to playwright Chad Eschman for collaborating on this post.