Steinert’s Expert Staff

Paul Murphy- President
The grandson of Jerome Murphy, the young bookkeeper who rose to become President of M. Steinert & Sons, Paul began with the company part-time in 1965, starting out in the piano rebuilding department. After graduating from St. Michael’s College with a degree in business administration, Paul joined the family business full time, and was promoted to store manager in 1972. He became Vice President in 1978, and took over the reigns from his father, Paul Murphy, Sr., as President in 1982. Paul served as Chairman of NAMM, the International Music Products Association, from 1999-2001. As the company celebrates its 150th anniversary,  Paul has guided M. Steinert & Sons with a steady hand for nearly 30 years.

Jerome Murphy- Treasurer
Jerome Murphy began his involvement with M. Steinert & Sons as a child riding a piano dolly around the shop during visits to see Dad and Pa and Uncle Jerome at work. Summers during college found him back in the rebuilding department, up to his elbows doing the dirty jobs in the finishing shop, then onward to repairing soundboards, installing new pinblocks and strings and working on action rebuilding.

He holds a BA from The College of the Holy Cross and an MBA from Rutgers University. He became a CPA in Massachusetts and worked as an auditor for the firm of Arthur Andersen & Co. for five years. The lure of working with pianos and family brought him back to M. Steinert & Sons in 1978, where his present title is Treasurer. In recent years, his mechanical interests and IT ability led him to become a certified installer of electronic player piano systems.

He continues to indulge his passion for things mechanical in maintaining his 1967 Morgan Plus 4 roadster and a 1967 Tripp 22 fishing boat. He can often be seen greeting the dawn on the Charles River, sculling in his mahogany single shell by King Boatworks, with its hand rubbed satin finish worthy of a Steinway.

Chuck Johnson- General Sales & Marketing Manager
Chuck is a veteran of the piano and keyboard world and brings a lifelong love of the piano to his role at Steinert. Chuck orchestrates and coordinates the sales and marketing activities of the company. His prior work includes managing digital products for M. Steinert & Sons, creating an education-focused division for a keyboard company cofounded by industry legend Bob Moog, co-creator of the ePiano computer-ready digital piano, developer of technology-enhanced piano education tools. Recently, he led the team that brought the PianoArc circular concept keyboard to fruition. His background as pianist, innovator and advocate for piano education bring Steinert a tireless promoter of the joys of playing piano. Chuck is a graduate of Bucknell University with additional coursework at the Institute of European Studies in Vienna, Austria.  

Brendan Murphy – Vice President
Brendan Murphy is the fourth generation of the Murphy family to work for M. Steinert & Sons. He began his career part-time in the refinishing and maintenance departments under foreman James Maggio before joining the Institutional Department full time in 2006. Brendan was promoted to Vice President in May of 2014. Formerly a salesperson for an educational travel company, Brendan has extensive experience working with teachers and school administrators on planning and executing successful fundraising programs. Brendan’s passion for music and music education prompted his appointment as Director of the Steinway Society of Massachusetts, a non-profit organization founded to help promote piano music and education in the Bay State.

Patrick Elisha- Institutional Client Services /Piano Academy Teacher
Patrick Elisha is with M. Steinert & Sons in Institutional Client Services, and is also on faculty as a piano teacher at both M. Steinert & Sons Piano Academy, and Jammin’ With You. He has studied with James Rivers, Stanislav Ioudenitch at Park University’s International Center for Music, and completed his Bachelor of Music with Menahem Pressler and Master of Music with André Watts at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Patrick performed and participated in various festivals and halls including Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Boris Berman Piano Academy Villa Medici Giulini Italy, American Liszt Society Festival Kansas University, California Mondavi Center’s Jackson Hall, and Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall. Patrick is also prize winner and recipient of numerous awards including First Prize in the Great Composers International Bach, Brahms, Chopin, Prokofiev, and Schubert Competitions and most recently, as a Grand Prize Winner of the Concert Artists International Competition. He is pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Boston University School of Music as a student of Pavel Nersessian. 

Vivian Handis- Piano Sales Consultant, Natick
A sales consultant at M.Steinert & Sons since 2002, Vivian brings well rounded depth to the piano selection process as pianist, piano educator, parent and product specialist. Dedicated to outstanding customer service, Vivian’s transition from teacher to consultant has provided a new framework for supporting pianists of all ages and levels. In 2013, after 11 years of service in our Boston store, Vivian relocated to our new Natick Mall showroom, bridging our east and west locations.

Elizabeth Wallace – Piano Sales Consultant, Natick
Elizabeth Wallace, a Conservatory trained musician with London’s Royal Academy, and Ireland’s Cork School of Music majored in piano, voice, and languages. She began to study the art of Klavier Stimmen with Herr Stollenwerk in Frankfurt Germany, later polishing the craft in the Pulsifer Piano Studio in Boston, Massachusetts. Elizabeth has sung, taught, and tuned in and around the Boston area for 25 years.

Steve Hauk, Store Manager, Natick
Steve’s lifelong interest in music prompted him to enter the piano business in 2001.  Prior to that, he worked as a manager and consultant in the financial services industry for many years. Steve is originally from Baltimore, Maryland and now resides in Rhode Island with his wife and daughter.  He received a degree in mathematics from Wake Forest University and studied music privately for ten years.

Phil Schoonmaker, Piano Sales Consultant
Having begun his piano studies at seven years of age, Phil’s fascination with the “king of instruments” has remained with him throughout some 40 years of involvement with many different facets of the piano industry—both technical and pedagogical. Phil is interested in anything to do with the art of the piano and his primary motivation as a sales consultant is to educate his clients about pianos in general and to help them conclude for themselves what kind of piano would be best suited to their specific needs.

Michael Murphy, Piano Sales Consultant, NatickMichael Murphy is a professional musician of 30 plus years. He attended Berklee College of Music majoring in composition and piano back in the early 80’s. Michael also plays guitar and sings. Over the years he has played thousands of different pianos and has a great understanding of what musicians are looking for in an instrument. This is Michael’s second time back at M. Steinert & Sons after working in the Worcester location back in 2000. He is a published writer as well and has maintained a weblog since 2005. He has a passion for the piano, and enjoys the consultative process of helping families find the perfect instrument for their needs.

Jonathan Tetzlaff – Director of Technical Services

Kayla Woodworth, Service Coordinator
Kayla’s love for music began when she started playing the viola in 4th grade. This passion opened many musical opportunities for her growing up in Buffalo, NY, led her to the Eastman School of Music for her under grad, and eventually to Boston for her Master’s at the New England Conservatory of Music. Kayla joined M. Steinert & Sons in the fall of 2014 and is thrilled to be staying in Boston. She still gigs around Boston with various groups as her schedule allows and also enjoys exploring the city with friends.

Will Grueb, Piano Technician
William began his study of piano at the age of nine. His love of music and the piano led him to a B.M. and an M.M. in piano performance from the University of Rhode Island. Upon graduation, William enrolled in the piano technology program at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, MA. In 2011, William joined the M. Steinert and Sons technical staff as a full time technician.

Harvey Greenberg – Piano Tuner
Harvey Greenberg has been working at Steinert for over forty years in our Service Department as a piano tuner.
He learned to tune via on-the-job training from experts at Steinert. Having the gift of perfect pitch has helped him to become one of Steinert’s greatest assets. Harvey received his education at Perkins School for the Blind. He is an accomplished pianist who began studying piano at five, studying at New England Conservatory Prep with George Litterst. He knew as a child he wanted to become a tuner. “I always liked to hear people tuning pianos, and hoped I would be able to work as a tuner at a piano store.” Being a fine piano tuner at New England’s premiere piano merchant has been a dream fulfilled for Harvey and for Steinert.

James Maggio – Finish Department Foreman
James Maggio joined M. Steinert & Sons in 1999. Prior to joining our team James owned and managed James Maggio Custom Refinishing, where for nearly 20 years he rebuilt and refinished a wide variety of furniture and instruments until turning his full attention and talent to pianos.  A master craftsman, James maintains the inventory of both stores in optimal condition through repairs and refinishing and travels to customer sites for business and residential piano repairs.

Nevenka Pavlovic – Case Refinishing
Nevenka Pavlovic came to work for Steinert in 2002, soon after she first arrived in the U.S. with her husband and two children as refugees from the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. Nevenka is a meticulous craftswoman whose attention to detail is shown in the top quality work produced in Steinert’s refinishing and case touch up department. Nevenka continues to focus her keen interest on the acquisition of new and better techniques. She is truly an asset to the company.

Liu Cun Wu- Service Technician, Natick
Mr.Wu holds a degree in oboe from the Shanghai Conservatory. He was an oboist with the Shanghai Opera House for 25 years. In Shanghai he also began to study piano technology. When he came to America Mr. Wu worked for five years as final inspection technician for Mason & Hamlin and presently continues to pursue excellence in his craft as a Steinway technician with M. Steinert & Sons Pianos, in Natick, Massachusetts where he specializes in regulation, voicing, tuning, and rebuilding.

Kathy Heffernan- Bookkeeper