About Us
“Perhaps one of my most memorable projects was the complete rebuilding and restoration of the 1883 Mason and Risch Grand Piano No. 3 — the centerpiece of the Fransz Liszt Musical Festival at McMaster University in October 1994. Ellis & Son Piano Company expertly installed a new, custom-fitted soundboard and newly fabricated bridge for this 7'4" salon grand. An incredibly challenging and rewarding task indeed!”
~ Kevin Ellis, "The Piano Man"
Three generations of excellence... Rowland, Kevin and Travis Ellis
Meet The Ellis Family
A Brief History
Rowland Ellis entered the “piano business” at a young age of 15 when he worked for the prestigious Heintzman Piano Company in Toronto until 1968. He then moved to Kingston, Ontario where he still works today.
In 1968, Rowland started his piano tuning business. His perfect pitch and musicality proved a natural for this business venture. At a young age of 12, Rowland’s son, Kevin put his first set of strings on an upright piano. He showed promise in continuing this family tradition of excellence.
Kevin Ellis
Kevin Ellis—fondly known as “The Piano Man”—proudly continues to practice his family craft. Since 1979 he has performed over 21,000 piano tunings throughout his thirty year career. He began as a head tuner for selective piano stores until he went out on his own in 1988.
Kevin is proud to have been a concert tuner for many celebrities including:
- Diana Krall
- The Osmond Brothers
- Burton Cummings
- Kenny Rogers
- Anne Murray
- Anton Kuerti
- Oscar Peterson
- Haygood Handy
- John Conlee
- Joe Sealy
- Valerie Tryon
He has also tuned for four International Liszt Festivals with the best Liszt performers in the world including Leslie Howard and many others. McMaster University has relief on Kevin to tune their pianos for 8 years as does the Ontario Provincial Kiwanis Music Festival Competition.
As a Craftsman Member of the Ontario Guild of Piano Technicians Inc., Kevin is highly skilled in the art of piano tuning including action regulation, pitch adjustment and voicing. He is qualified to perform any aspect of piano repair, recondition and maintenance. He is the only recipient of the George Avis Pursuit of Excellence Award.
Piano rented from us; tuned & prepped by Kevin for the Canadian Country music awards.
The Tradition Continues
Kevin’s son Travis joined the family tradition in 2006. He has shown pride in workmanship and a talent for piano restoration. It must be in the genes!
All Ellis & Son personnel are well trained and fully insured.
Rowland Ellis
Kevin Ellis
