Snapshot: Head Piano Technician Charles Ball Retires

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Thursday, April 9, 2020
Charles Ball tunes a piano
After 40 years of service, Head Piano Technician Charles Ball retired from his position in the Butler School of Music in January 2020.

After 40 years of service, Head Piano Technician Charles Ball retired from his position in the Butler School of Music in January 2020.

Ball began working for UT’s music school in 1980 and hascared for countless pianos under his watch, including the “signature piano” pictured here in Bates Recital Hall. A favorite of faculty and students alike, the piano gets its name from the numerous signatures scrawled inside its frame, and Ball has meticulously tuned and voiced this piano for more than two decades.

“It’s been a wonderful piano since the get-go,” says Ball. “It's been a real workhorse, and a very viable piano, and has become an old friend.” Photo by Nathan Russell

Read more about Ball in this charming exit interview with the Butler School of Music.

SNAPSHOT is a recurring column in Arts Next magazine that celebrates moments in the College of Fine Arts through the art of documentary photography.