Music to Our Ears - Africa's First Black Steinway Technician!

As a result of his hard work and maximising his opportunities, South African Tshepiso Ledwaba is now one of the most highly skilled and sought-after piano technicians in the world.

In December 2019, Steinway certified Ledwaba as the first black Steinway piano-approved technician in Africa, after years of training at the highly respected Ohio-based Oberlin College and Conservatory, where he honed his listening and tuning skills. The college works with Steinway on a certification process that includes recommendations from Oberlin as well as students taking exams at a Steinway factory.

Ledwaba, who was raised in the township of Soshanguve in Gauteng province, was introduced to classical music in 2004 by a former teacher. In 2010 the University of South Africa (UNISA) offered Ledwaba a contract to teach children to play musical instruments. The teaching experience made him realise there were few good technicians around to fix the tens of thousands of instruments in South Africa's informal music sector. He approached the foundation's director, Professor Karendra Devroop, with the innovative idea of acquiring the necessary skills to perform the maintenance and tuning in-house. The rest as they say, is history!

Steinway pianos are high-end pianos, and each can cost as much as U.S.$200,000. Said to be quite temperamental, their wood and metal structures require delicate handling. They are sensitive to weather conditions and are highly susceptible to damage in very warm or very cold weather, writes Ray Mwareya for The Conversation.