Get to know Danette
Danette’s Work Experience Includes
Private Piano Teacher
Children’s & Adult Choir Director
Gaston School of the Arts, Piano Instructor
Professional Pianist & Piano Technician
Danette started her journey in piano technology after decades of being a professional pianist and private piano teacher. Her love for piano and interest in how it works started years ago, but in the last 5 years she decided she wanted to know how this amazing instrument worked. So she pick up a tuning lever, joined the Piano Technician’s Guild, and was accepted into Well-Loved Piano’s apprenticeship program.
What is your first memory of the piano?
"I was six years old and we lived in Hawaii. I was required to practice 30 minutes every night. One night, I could hear my entire family upstairs watching a show on TV and I figured out how to remove the cover of the clock sitting on the piano, and moved the hands forward. Of course, I got caught as all the other clocks in the house still read the correct time."
What was a job you had before being a piano technician that you enjoyed?
"Well, I just loved being a mom and really wish, in retrospect, that I could have had more fun with my kids and vacuumed less. I wish I could have documented those days better, too. I also really enjoy teaching children’s choirs, teaching music, in general, is very interesting and a joy."
What is the best advice you have received?
"My husband, Michael, has a mantra that I have adopted, “Not my problem.” It has been extremely liberating to realize that not every problem is my problem."
What do you want people to remember about you?
"I want them to remember that the time we had together mattered to me. That I was fully present with them and paid attention."
What do you do in your free time?
"Free time – also another liberating concept that I have learned to appreciate from my husband. Generally, I like to spend it with those that I love: catching up, hanging out, watching a show or a game, or having a play date with my grandkids.
If you could own any piano, which one would it be?
"Aurally speaking, the Fazioli Pianoforti is calling my name. Yeah, I know, it’s a pipe dream, but I sure would like to sit in front of one and hear what some call “perfection”."
What’s the coolest thing you're
working on right now?
"Building my mother’s side of our family tree from newspaper archives and genealogy sources. I was inspired to do this by some of the relatives I have found through 23 and Me."
What piano service or repair do you find really fun to do?
"I really enjoy the process of regulation, tweaking the nuances by fine degrees. It is fascinating."
What was the best concert you ever attended?
"Nov. 11, 2013, Joe Bonamassa performed in a pretty intimate auditorium in the Bojangles Arena and he really was on fire that night. I was blown away by his dexterity on the guitar. It was a really good venue, not too loud… just right."
If you could live anywhere else, where would it be?
"I have been very fortunate to live in some of the prettiest places in the U.S.: Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Monterey, CA; Colorado Springs, CO; Stuart, FL;… I have just gotten home from a year in the Mississippi Delta. I am glad to be home in my pretty yard, in Belmont, North Carolina and nearer to most of my family."
What do you typically listen to while driving in your car or doing shop repairs?
"This summer, my go-to has been WDAV, but I then flip to XM and tune into Comedy Round-up. This week, I have kept the dial on Willie’s Roadhouse. Define typical!"
