Don Mannino RPT, director of field services for Shigeru Kawai Pianos, received the “Hall of Fame” award from the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG) at their annual convention and technical institute held in July in Chicago, Illinois. The Hall of Fame award is presented to only one or two piano technicians each year. According to the PTG, the award is given “to honor those who have shared their talents, time and loyalty with our profession so that we may have what is ours today.” Mr. Mannino’s tributes and personal profile will be preserved in perpetuity at the Piano Technicians Guild offices in Kansas City, Kansas.
Don Mannino spent his early years in the San Diego, California area restoring older pianos to new condition and preparing concert pianos for pianists such as Mitsuko Uchida, Dave Brubeck, and Earl Wild. Since joining Kawai in 1995, he has served as national service manager, director of technical education, and director of Shigeru Kawai Field Services. He was previously honored by the PTG in 2011 as a “Member of Note” and was privileged to be certified by Kawai Japan in 2012 as the first American “Master Piano Artisan.”
During his tenure at Kawai, Mannino has prepared pianos for innumerable concerts as well as piano competitions such as the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition (Los Angeles), the William Kapell International Piano Competition (College Park, MD) and the International Institute for Young Musicians International Piano Competition (Lawrence, KS). He is a sought- after instructor at Piano Technicians Guild conferences throughout North America. In addition, he has designed specialized tools for piano technicians and has published articles on a variety of technical topics in the Piano Technicians Journal.
