After months of Nik's increasingly probing questions, Stephen Pryputniewicz said at last, "You know, I'm looking for a worthy successor."
Steve was a piano tuner. This fascinated Nik. There was a romance about the profession, something lovely, like beekeeping or cartography. Steve was matter-of-fact. "You'll need to get a piano."
And so began an apprenticeship which found occasional spaces in their busy lives. Weekends, evenings. Time passed, intricate, arcane knowledge was handed down. Then as Steve's retirement approached more quickly than either he or his apprentice had anticipated, Nik found himself facing the inheritance of Steve's livelihood with an incomplete training. Expedition was necessary.
At the time only three places taught piano technology in North America. The best of them was in Boston, the North Bennet Street School. Nik crossed the continent bound for the oldest handcraft school in the United States. There the strengths in Steve's teachings were reinforced, and the gaps between were filled. NBSS was an enthralling experience: fabulous teachers (including Debbie Cyr, Emily Townsend, Mario Igrec, David Betts, and Jack Stebbins) each with their own approach to piano care, beloved classmates, extensive resources, and exposure unique to the school with its proximity to the historical epicenters of piano manufacturing and piano culture.
While at North Bennet Street, an opportunity arose to join the Piano Technician's Guild. The Guild, as part of it's many-faceted network of professional growth and support, is the only organization to offer a credential in piano technology. Obtaining this credential requires a series of rigorous entrance exams covering a broad body of technical knowledge, repair, regulation, and tuning. He passed each of the exams –phew– and now gets to write those letters after his name, RPT.
After graduating NBSS, Nik returned to the abounding beauty of West Sonoma County to help Steve retire. He now tunes and tinkers throughout the North Bay. The two of them still meet regularly to talk shop and enjoy one another's company.
Apart from pianos, Nik likes and loves all kinds of stuff. He writes music and occasionally records it, plays guitar, sings, explores, takes pictures, cooks, hikes, gardens, and pets his cat. He's married to his favorite person. He dreams of swimming in a subterranean lake and of napping in a redwood canopy.
