Yamaha Artist Services, Inc. Celebrates 20th Anniversary
NEW YORK, N.Y. — In April, 1987, Terry Lewis became the first director of what is now known as Yamaha Artist Services, Inc. (YASI). Yamaha Corporation of America had just opened a research & development facility called the Yamaha Communications Center next to the famous Russian Tea Room on 57th Street in Manhattan. The public was invited to visit a showroom, managed by Eric Johnson, where Yamaha pianos, brass and woodwind instruments and synthesizers were on display. "It was my first sighting of a Yamaha Disklavier®," recalls James Steeber, currently the acting director of YASI. "From that moment, I made it my aim to get to that instrument and make a recording." A pianist employed by The Juilliard School of Music, Steeber became a regular showroom visitor, and booked time in its rehearsal spaces to satisfy his curiosity about the Disklavier.
Lewis, then William Santaella, served as directors of Yamaha Concert & Artist Services until Johnson took the helm in the mid-90s. In its earliest incarnation, the program served artists via a Yamaha selection room and provisioned pianos to artists and performance venues. In the late 90s, the name was changed to Yamaha Artist Services throughout the company.
YAS opened a Chelsea office in 1995 which remained the base of operations for nearly a decade under directors Johnson, Jim Wooten and Stan Zielinski. On May 18, 2004, YASI (the 'Inc.' was added) re-opened in a state-of-the-art facility at 689 Fifth Avenue in the building once known as the Aeolian Building. The grand opening of the two-floor 15,000 square foot facility was heralded with performances by Yamaha artist Denis Matsuev and The Canadian Brass, attended by representatives from Yamaha Corporation of America's Band & Orchestra and Piano Divisions, Yamaha Corporation of Japan, Yamaha artists and many long-time friends and dignitaries.
"With the move to our current location, YASI underwent a dramatic shift in focus from administrative office and Yamaha piano selection room to recognition as a performance venue," says Steeber. "Our stage accommodates concert grand pianos and we planned for periodic performances. To our pleasant surprise, YASI became a Fifth Avenue classical music salon attracting a growing audience, great talents, concert reviews in The New York Times and listings in The New Yorker and many other publications."
From April 1, 2006 to April 1, 2007, 6,000 people visited YASI. Makia Matsumura was hired as music and activities coordinator to manage the concert schedule (three to five performances each week and more), communicate with the public regarding events, and now, as production coordinator, handle nationwide piano performance orders via a fleet of about 350 pianos, including 100 concert grand pianos. Magdalena Baczewska, who joined the company as artist relations coordinator, assumed Matsumura's salon schedule and artist outreach activities and now oversees the salon schedule and performers' needs for in-house concerts.
The YASI showroom consistently displays Yamaha concert grand pianos, the latest Disklavier Mark IV Pro model and a mix of smaller grand pianos, upright pianos, and GranTouch™ pianos. A full line of professional brass and woodwind instruments are on display in the Band & Orchestra Atelier (on the 11th Floor), adjacent to a full-service custom shop and Yamaha Music Interactive (YMIA), which is engaged in software and hardware content development, publishing and e-commerce.
Over the past 20 years, many prominent classical musicians have become Yamaha artists (Sara Davis Buechner, Jie Chen, Frederic Chiu, Olga Kern, Alexander Kobrin, Adam Marks, Klara Min, Pedja Muzijevic, Abbey Simon, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Oxana Yablonskaya and many more) and YASI has placed Yamaha pianos in countless prestigious venues, including Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia, "Red{an orchestra}" in Cleveland, San Francisco Ballet, Metropolitan Opera, Opryland USA, Disneyland, Berklee College of Music, Newport Music Festival, The Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel, and Columbia University, among others. "One of the keys to our success is having great field technicians who keep the pianos in top playing condition," says Steeber. These technicians, Tom Kaplan, Larry Brown, Craig Fehrenbacher, Greg Rorabough, Kaz Tsujio, Max Michimoto and Shinya Matsumoto, are indispensable to Yamaha artists on the road.
Technological advances add further distinction to YASI's current offerings. Active Field Control (AFC) sound processing technology allows artists to shape and correct room acoustics, or even authentically simulate other performing arts venues during master classes, concerts, media showcases, recording sessions and other events.
"For a long time in NYC, there wasn't anything like what we offer here," explains Steeber. "Artists and chamber orchestras feel welcome here." What's next? "We will refine what we've learned over the past three years, and create even more significance. We will increase our outreach into the arts, nationwide but particularly in NYC. And, we will expand the public's awareness of YASI through our various concerto series and our master classes, which will be even more magnificent and meaningful."
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.
 Aeolian Hall, 1927 |
YAS opened a Chelsea office in 1995 which remained the base of operations for nearly a decade under directors Johnson, Jim Wooten and Stan Zielinski. On May 18, 2004, YASI (the 'Inc.' was added) re-opened in a state-of-the-art facility at 689 Fifth Avenue in the building once known as the Aeolian Building. The grand opening of the two-floor 15,000 square foot facility was heralded with performances by Yamaha artist Denis Matsuev and The Canadian Brass, attended by representatives from Yamaha Corporation of America's Band & Orchestra and Piano Divisions, Yamaha Corporation of Japan, Yamaha artists and many long-time friends and dignitaries.
"With the move to our current location, YASI underwent a dramatic shift in focus from administrative office and Yamaha piano selection room to recognition as a performance venue," says Steeber. "Our stage accommodates concert grand pianos and we planned for periodic performances. To our pleasant surprise, YASI became a Fifth Avenue classical music salon attracting a growing audience, great talents, concert reviews in The New York Times and listings in The New Yorker and many other publications."
 Joshua Bell and Frederic Chiu in rehearsal at YASI Piano Salon. |
The YASI showroom consistently displays Yamaha concert grand pianos, the latest Disklavier Mark IV Pro model and a mix of smaller grand pianos, upright pianos, and GranTouch™ pianos. A full line of professional brass and woodwind instruments are on display in the Band & Orchestra Atelier (on the 11th Floor), adjacent to a full-service custom shop and Yamaha Music Interactive (YMIA), which is engaged in software and hardware content development, publishing and e-commerce.
Over the past 20 years, many prominent classical musicians have become Yamaha artists (Sara Davis Buechner, Jie Chen, Frederic Chiu, Olga Kern, Alexander Kobrin, Adam Marks, Klara Min, Pedja Muzijevic, Abbey Simon, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Oxana Yablonskaya and many more) and YASI has placed Yamaha pianos in countless prestigious venues, including Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia, "Red{an orchestra}" in Cleveland, San Francisco Ballet, Metropolitan Opera, Opryland USA, Disneyland, Berklee College of Music, Newport Music Festival, The Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel, and Columbia University, among others. "One of the keys to our success is having great field technicians who keep the pianos in top playing condition," says Steeber. These technicians, Tom Kaplan, Larry Brown, Craig Fehrenbacher, Greg Rorabough, Kaz Tsujio, Max Michimoto and Shinya Matsumoto, are indispensable to Yamaha artists on the road.
Technological advances add further distinction to YASI's current offerings. Active Field Control (AFC) sound processing technology allows artists to shape and correct room acoustics, or even authentically simulate other performing arts venues during master classes, concerts, media showcases, recording sessions and other events.
"For a long time in NYC, there wasn't anything like what we offer here," explains Steeber. "Artists and chamber orchestras feel welcome here." What's next? "We will refine what we've learned over the past three years, and create even more significance. We will increase our outreach into the arts, nationwide but particularly in NYC. And, we will expand the public's awareness of YASI through our various concerto series and our master classes, which will be even more magnificent and meaningful."
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.