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MARIA CAPUTO (NYC)

Maria is a musician of several stripes: pianist, vocalist, teaching artist, theater music director, and now a tuning apprentice. She earned her B.A. in Liberal Arts (with a concentration in music) from Sarah Lawrence College; during her undergraduate degree she also studied music and history for a semester in Havana, where she took voice lessons with the Cuban soprano Bárbara Llanes. Maria grew up playing piano and was always tangentially intrigued by the tuning process, which she observed when her family's piano got tuned twice a year. After graduating from college, she apprenticed with that same local piano technician in between theater camp, choral accompaniment, and cruise ship band gigs. Maria has always sought knowledge in order to solve problems at hand, whether it be determining at age 9 to learn Spanish to decode her parents’ dinner table asides, or delving into the world of piano tech in order to safely spot-check her own piano and deliver her friends’ and family’s instruments into the world of A440. She is excited to be working with the fine folks at FPF because they support that pursuit of knowledge in the service of improving the world around them. When not holding a tuning hammer or facing a keyboard, Maria enjoys learning languages (currently working on German), discovering niche YouTube channels, and taking walks in new neighborhoods. She is an inaugural member of Trinity Wall Street's choral group Downtown Voices.

LUIS CRUZ (NYC)

Luis earned his Bachelor of Music in composition at Berklee College of Music, and his Master of Arts in composition from Hunter College, CUNY. He is currently a Ph.D. student in music theory at Rutgers University where he has been a lecturer for the Mason Gross School of the Arts theory department since 2015. His research interests include theories of form, popular music analysis, serialism, and ancient Greek music theory. Luis’s original compositions can be seen on his youtube channel and he can be heard as a performer playing trumpet, drums, and keyboards on the debut album of A Slow Death and Loneliness. As a piano technician, Luis began training in 2010 under Dick Dante, RPT, of Dante Piano Service Corp., and has been servicing pianos in New York City since 2012. His passion for tuning first grew from his study of ancient Greek music theory and the tuning systems of Pythagoras and Ptolemy. As a member of FPF, Luis hopes to share that passion with the team while continuing to develop his craft. Outside of music, Luis enjoys watching sports, especially basketball, doing the NY Times crossword puzzle, sketching at MoMA, and walking through Battery Park.

JEROME ELLIS (NYC)

Jerome has been composing and playing piano and saxophone since he was a teenager. He earned his B.A. in music theory and ethnomusicology from Columbia University, studying ear training and counterpoint with pianist and composer Ramin Arjomand, with whom he still studies privately. As a composer he was awarded a 2015 Fulbright Fellowship to research traditional samba performance and write new music in Salvador, Brazil. He has performed his compositions at venues like La MaMa, Joe's Pub, and WKCR, most notably as part of the live-music and storytelling duo James and Jerome. He and writer/storyteller James Harrison Monaco have been collaborating for ten years and are active in NYC's downtown theater community. Having known the joy of playing his music for audiences, Jerome came to Floating Piano Factory seeking yet another way to connect with others via the piano, and to deepen his own relationship with the instrument. As an FPF apprentice, he is enthusiastic about developing his skills as a piano tuner and technician while providing the best possible service to his customers, as well as working with such a talented team. Outside of music Jerome is a devoted lover of literature and will rarely be found without a few books in his bag. He also enjoys traveling, studying languages, and visiting his favorite New York City sanctuaries: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Botanical Garden.

STEVE MAX (NYC)

Steven, a native New Yorker, is an experienced pianist and piano teacher. He studied at the Manhattan School of Music, graduating with a BM and MM in classical piano performance. As a performer he enjoys playing 20^th century and contemporary works for piano, and has performed at venues such as Weill Hall and Steinway Hall. As a teacher, he hopes to instill in his students a love and understanding of music. In 2017 he began his training as a piano technician, attending the Basic Piano Technology training program at Boston’s North Bennet Street School, where he developed his skills in aural piano tuning, as well as piano maintenance, repair, and regulation. During the nine-month long training program he also became a Registered Piano Technician with the Piano Technicians Guild.  He enjoys experiencing the many ways in which piano maintenance can enhance our experience of playing and hearing music for piano. He is delighted to join Floating Piano Factory as he works to expand and refine his skills, so that he can help every piano owner get the most out of their instrument. During his free time, he can be found attending some of New York’s stand-up comedy and improv comedy shows.

DANIEL DIMAGGIO (NYC)

Daniel has studied jazz piano, and played guitar, bass, and keyboards in bands for a number of years. He became interested in piano tuning during his time at the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, where he worked as an archival intern after earning a BA in American Studies. He continues to compose music and collaborate with others while developing his tuning skills, and is working on several musical projects at any given time. As an apprentice, Daniel is committed to providing the highest level of care for each instrument while continuing to refine his knowledge and skills as a piano tuner. He came to FPF as an assistant in the summer of 2014, and is now an official apprentice, cultivating an increasingly enthusiastic and passionate aproach to piano tuning, maintenance and regulation. He is excited by the prospect of contributing to his passion for music through piano tuning, and increasing the ease with which music is made. When he isn't tending to pianos, Daniel can be found collecting records, studying traditional British folk music, and traveling to remote areas of New York and the tri-state area in his car.

BIMOL KARMAKER (NYC)

Bimol grew up playing the piano from the age of six, when a Russian piano teacher helped develop within him a deep appreciation for classical music. While he later earned a degree in chemical engineering from U Penn, and subsequently worked as a project manager for a solar power firm, in 2012 he decided to return to music. He has since been working on regaining and advancing his classical technique, as well as tinkering with jazz and a bit of composition. Ever hungry for new knowledge, Bimol is eagerly learning the art and science of piano tech using his know-how to make the world a more harmonious place. He fully appreciates and embraces piano tuning, and loves that it brings together music technique with scientific and mathematical analysis - a perfect melding of his classical music background and education in engineering. Bimol enjoys getting to the bottom of how pianos work, what makes them sound the way they do, and how to make them sound better, and he is very excited to develop his knowledge and skills in making your instrument sound great. A believer that the rests are just as important as the notes, Bimol enjoys rock climbing, getting into the woods, learning new languages, and cooking for everyone.

NEWAY LAU (HONG KONG)

Neway is an enthusiastic piano lover and is earnestly committed to a career as a world-class professional piano technician. She has performed as a church pianist for more than 8 years, developing her skills as an accompanist and enjoying the piano as an instrument that brings people together. Neway has a strong analytical and mechanical mind and thus is not satisfied with just playing piano, but also craves a deep understanding of piano mechanics. Miss Lau studied Management Science at the City University of Hong Kong and graduated with her BBA in 2013. However, she has been so enamored with pianos that she left a comfortable white collar career several years ago to learn the basics of piano tuning in a piano warehouse. Neway has already participated in some intensive training with pianos and joined the membership of the China Piano Tuner Association (CPTA). She works with Floating Piano Factory to develop more comprehensive knowledge and skills and to fulfill her mission of ranking among the top piano technicians internationally. She has a good deal of experience taking care of pianos for households, churches, schools and various institutions. She is committed to achieving the best tuning, touch and tone for every piano she encounters. She looks forward to her next appointment with you and would like you to know that you can, without hesitation, entrust her with providing top-notch care of your piano.

EATHAN JANNEY, RPT, PhD

Eathan has 18 years of experience as a piano technician. He studied with Dave Miller, the staff piano technician for the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, New Jersey. Dave Carpenter, the inventor of the Verituner electronic tuning device, provided mentorship for Eathan in Chicago. Eathan also worked with Ken Eschete and Bill Schwarts, the staff piano technicians at Northwestern University in Chicago. As a resident of Brooklyn for the past 6 years, Eathan has developed a strong reputation in the NYC area. He is an active member of and the NYC piano technician's guild and a registered piano technician.

In addition to piano work, Eathan has a wide variety of interests and pursuits. His collaborative and broadly interdisciplinary life's mission is to perform a series of bold creative acts that through their implausibility inspire a mass sense of duty to overcome fear and subdue violence. In September 2015 he earned a PhD in Biology from CUNY with studies that enrich our understanding of the connection between birdsong and music. He has won recognition in Switzerland for his studies that bridge music and neuroscience and from IBM for his entrepreneurial acumen. His most recent award was a one-month residency through the Djerassi Artists Foundation supporting work that integrates art and science. He currently acts as a FPF's cultural ambassador to Peru caring for pianos abroad as a means of forming connections across cultures.