Tim Fransham
I’ve had my Welmar upright piano tuned, refaced and aligned by Theo a few times. His incredible knowledge and skill transformed my piano, which – in turn – encouraged me to get much more use out of it. Not only does he get the job done (and amazing quickly); he provides insightful knowledge and information about how to keep the piano in great condition, because he truly cares about these wonderful and complicated instruments.
Jamie Jay
Theo repaired and renovated my piano. The sound it now makes; is absolutely beautiful and it seems like a different instrument. He is courteous; punctual and gave a very detailed and informative description of the work that was required to restore my piano to its former state; and how to maintain its condition in the future.
“Theo gave my piano (which I had newly acquired in a bad state of repair) a full service and concert pitch tuning; he explained the work that was required and kept me informed of the progress, letting me know all the options available as he went along. He was professional, polite and punctual and responsive to my communications via email and he clearly has a passion for his work. My piano sounds noticeably better and it is much nicer to play, with the action/response of the keys now much improved. I would recommend Theo to anyone at whatever level and with whatever type of piano”
“Theo is our go-to piano tuner for all our needs at Garsington Opera at Wormsley. He is flexible, reliable, professional and does excellent work, while being a lovely colleague. He’s also done some fortepiano work for us exceedingly well. I’d be very happy to recommend him to anyone – we consider ourselves lucky he’s so local to us!”
Garsington Opera ( Laura Canning | Director of Artistic Administration)
I can’t recommend Theo enough if you need your piano serviced. He came to tune my piano a Yamaha upright and did a fantastic job. Subsequently he wrote me a detailed report of other ways he might improve the piano’s performance. Theo transformed my instrument. His knowledge and skill combined with a great deal of experience make him an outstanding professional and I would hire him again for further musical needs.
Ellen Emmet
I have recently had my piano tuned and overhauled by Theo. It is now much more enjoyable to play. The pedals work properly and instantly. Now that the hammers have been refaced and aligned, the tone of the piano has improved immensely. It is also absolutely spot on in tune. I can really recommend Theo’s skill and professionalism.
David Daniels
“My piano is transformed by Theo’s work on it. He showed me how its muted tone was due to the hammers not hitting the strings quite straight, and other signs of wear in its hundred year life, and he has enlivened the tone no end. The cost was reasonable too and he did it all in my home. I look forward to his final visit on this reconditioning, and to regular tuning visits.”
Victoria Mort
Theo was recommended to us; by the firm from whom we purchased our Steinway piano in October 2015. We needed someone who could both tune the piano; restore; regulate it; and who was also trained as a Steinway specialist. Theo proved to be the very piano tuner we needed.
Calm; professional and with the necessary confidence. Theo was able to explain exactly what needed doing, and was able to price it accurately from the onset. Although he lived quite far from us, he was punctual each and every time he came. He has now visited a number of times, initially to regulate and tune the piano, and then to tune the piano.
The piano needed quite a bit of regulating to improve the touch. There was a good two to three days worth of work, besides the actual tuning of the piano.
Theo worked consistently and diligently, achieving a beautiful sound. And then he came back of his own accord to fine tune a couple of notes that looked as if they might stick. Theo is an expert, not only on Steinway pianos, but also on other models. He has also tuned my Bluthner, and has a wide knowledge of keyboard styles and repertoire. Theo has a friendly and lovely disposition, and I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone who needed a piano tuner and piano restorer.
Monique Cremnitz (Music Advisor)
Mr Mukamuri tuned the piano in April 2015, and then carried out a thorough overhaul of the piano in November 2015, re-facing and realigning the hammers and adjusting the action and generally doing a thorough clean up. He gave us a guarantee of his work for five years. The piano had not been overhauled since 1998, and we have been living abroad a good deal (I am a former member of the British Foreign Service). He then came to adjust the tuning and refitted one hammer that had become detached in April 2016.
On each occasion that he has come to our flat, Mr Mukamuri has been meticulous and very careful in looking after our piano, and – so far as I can judge (I am a very amateur pianist) -has been very effective in maintaining it, keeping it in excellent order. I don’t play it as often as I should, but we have two young granddaughters who are budding pianists, starting to do their grades, and they seem to enjoy playing it.
Mr Mukamuri has also been very courteous and reliable in keeping to appointments that we have made. I would thoroughly recommend him to anyone who needs a tuner and piano technician. Mr Mukamuri has been living in England for a good many years, but came here originally from Zimbabwe.
A E Furness
Theo did a wonderful job for us, giving us sound advise on how to best make our very old piano to play. He was very reasonable in price, and very knowledgeable about various details about our old piano. We are delighted with the result. Highly recommended!
Hanneke Grootenboer