Bruce Gibson Piano Technician

NEED YOUR PIANO TUNED IN UNITY AND AREA?

I'll be tuning pianos on April 11 for the upcoming Unity Music Festival. I've got openings and will stay longer if there is demand.

Text or Call: (306) 221-3786

Unity Music Festival Association

🎶 Happy World Piano Day 2026! 🎶

The 88th day of every year is World Piano Day. Why day 88? Because the vast majority of pianos have 88 keys!

I MET DASH CROFTS who passed away on March 25, 2026.

In 1992, I sang in a choir with Dash Crofts (one half of the soft rock duo Seals and Crofts) at the Javits Center in New York City. I also tuned the piano for the eight performances of this choir.

Prior to one of the shows I found myself, along with another singer, warming up our voices back stage with Dash Crofts. Hearing that iconic voice raw and up close was breathtaking. I was humbled and star struck!

I saw Seals and Crofts in concert four times (Richmond Hill, Toronto, Edmonton, and even Reykjavík, Iceland). Such great music!

Rest now, Dash. I hope you meet up with Jimmy Seals and keep on playing and singing. As one of your best known songs says, "We may never pass this way again..." — but the music and the memories remain.

I tuned the Yamaha 9' concert grand piano at the EA Rawlinson Centre for the Arts in Prince Albert on March 25, 2026 for an acoustic show by the iconic Canadian band, Glass Tiger. I had the pleasure of talking with band members Alan, Carmela, Sam, and Al onstage before the show. Alan told me he's been to the North Pole on four occasions and the weather in Prince Albert didn't feel any different! It was really great to chat with them and to watch them rehearse from the wings. Such fabulous music!

I prepared the 7' Yamaha C7 grand for a Valentine's Day concert by Jeffery Straker at the Kerry Vickar Centre in Melfort, Saskatchewan on Saturday, February 14. After the show, Jeffery commented in an email to me about the piano, "Wonderful job tech-ing the piano!! Such a warm sound from that C7."

Jeffery is a great singer/songwriter, pianist, ukulele, and harmonica player. On top of all that, a wonderful storyteller. Don't pass up a chance to see him!

Thanks to the North East Spca for putting me on the guest list for the show.

Beautiful Setting About to Change

I was just at Tiefengrund Rosenort Mennonite Church which is about 85 kms north of Saskatoon. I've been tuning their nice Yamaha P2 upright piano every year for their Christmas Eve service for about 20 years now.

I have always appreciated the beautiful setting of the church with its majestic pines. Sadly, the trees along the road in front of the church are being cut down because they are interfering with power lines. In the picture that includes my vehicle, you can see smaller pines in front of the tall ones. The church members planted the trees in anticipation of the tall ones being removed. I also took video of the yard and the beautiful trees which I've attached below.

Here's where I had my lunch today. It appears to be an old highway east of Biggar. No traffic to worry about. 😄

Congrats to the Saskatchewan Roughriders last evening! What a great game. Nail biter at the end to make the win that much more exciting!

Remembrance Day | Honouring my maternal great grandfather

My maternal great-grandfather, William George Drinkwater, enlisted with the 147th (Grey) Battalion Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force (CEF) on December 14, 1915 at the age of 36 in Owen Sound, Ontario. His son, Harley Drinkwater, enlisted with the 248th Grey Overseas Battalion (CEF) on February 6, 1917. I don't know much about their service during WWI. It appears on his headstone that William George Drinkwater was an L. Corporal. His obituary states that he served as a bandsman in the Canadian Army in WWI. I particularly appreciate that he was involved in music in his service. (See photo) After the war, he organized a number of junior bands. Thankfully, both survived the war though Harley passed away in 1923 at the age of 23 from influenza and myocarditis.

Here are links to their Attestation Papers if anyone is interested.

William George Drinkwater
https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=pffww&idnumber=367166&q_type_1=q&q_1=drinkwalter&ecopy=298900a

Harley Drinkwater
https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=pffww&idnumber=367146&q_type_1=q&q_1=harley%20drinkwater&ecopy=298917a

Thank you to all our vets, and those who have gone before them, for their sacrifice, service, and for protecting our freedom.

I was honoured to tune the piano yesterday for the Sarah McLachlan show at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

Her Yamaha C7 grand was ready to go for me on a stage that, at the time, was quite far from its final position under all the lights and sound system. About 30 minutes into the tuning, the Production Manager yelled, “Hold on!” — and suddenly the pusher crew started moving the entire stage. A fun ride! 😄🎹

In an interview with Yamaha, Sarah said:

“I love my C7. She's come on the road with me everywhere... It's a great piano — really solid and consistent. When you're playing live with a band, you need something that cuts through. Yamahas are very solid in that way.”

Thank you to the SaskTel Centre for having me out — and thank you, Sarah, for all your beautiful music. The concert was amazing! Sarah is a treasure for sure. 💜