Chickering & Sons Pianos

Michael Feisthammel is a lifelong history teacher who has a passion for the construction and design of pianos. He acquired a Chicago-made Conover '77 grand almost 20 years ago. The high quality of his old Conover piano aroused his deep curiosity in the Chicago piano industry, which provided the impetus in writing a book on the forgotten industry. During the pandemic of 2020 he launched the deep study and documentation of at least 75 Chicago's piano manufacturers.

James Nicoloro worked in a few small piano shops in New England, learning the art of tuning and the skills of restoration. He was asked to provide a piano for a women, who was so pleased with the instrument she recommended James to a friend. Before he knew it, James was in business for himself, assisted by his aunt who had a small space he used as the first location of East Cambridge Piano in Massachusetts. He open in 1978 and has had some wonderful experiences in the industry, including a visit to the NAMM Show where he was introduced to Casio’s line of digital keyboards.