The PERKINS SCHOOL OF PIANO TUNING AND TECHNOLOGY, established by ROBERT K. PERKINS in 1962, was a vocational school approved by the Ohio Department of Education and later by many state Vocational Rehabilitation departments. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service approved the school as well, allowing foreign students to enroll. Perkins, who had studied music in his home state of West Virginia, came to Cleveland in 1955, joining his brother in the piano moving business. He established Bob's Piano Service in 1961, which included moving, tuning, and off-site renovations. Aware of the demand for qualified technicians, he began the Perkins School in 1962, teaching student-apprentices piano tuning and the repair and refinishing of upright, spinet, grand, and player pianos. The vocational school, located in the old Cleveland Trust building on Lorain and W. 98th street., attracted students from all over the world. Perkins moved it to Elyria in 1978, maintaining it there until his death in Jan. 1993.
Article Categories