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Take Two

LA Unified's backlog of broken musical instruments 'like a war scene'

By Take Two Staff
Published Oct 1, 2013
Steve Bagmanyan, a piano repair technician tunes a Steinway and Sons piano at the LAUSD Music Repair Shop.
Steve Bagmanyan, a piano repair technician tunes a Steinway and Sons piano at the LAUSD Music Repair Shop.
(
Grant Slater/KPCC
)
Enrique Beruman, a piano repair technician, tests the action on a piano keyboard.
Enrique Beruman, a piano repair technician, tests the action on a piano keyboard.
(
Grant Slater/KPCC
)
Enrique Beruman fixes the action of the keys on dismantled piano. He is one of three piano technicians on staff at the Music Repair Shop.
Enrique Beruman fixes the action of the keys on dismantled piano. He is one of three piano technicians on staff at the Music Repair Shop.
(
Grant Slater/KPCC
)
Andrew Palkowitz is one of two brass repair technicians on staff at the Music Repair Shop. He cleans a trumpet after giving it an acid bath in the shop's downtown warehouse.
Andrew Palkowitz is one of two brass repair technicians on staff at the Music Repair Shop. He cleans a trumpet after giving it an acid bath in the shop's downtown warehouse.
(
Grant Slater/KPCC
)
Michael Dubkin worked in the school district's Music Repair Shop for 17 years. He retired in 2011. Since the district has no woodwind technicians, he takes instruments home and repairs them on a freelance basis.
Michael Dubkin worked in the school district's Music Repair Shop for 17 years. He retired in 2011. Since the district has no woodwind technicians, he takes instruments home and repairs them on a freelance basis.
(
Grant Slater/KPCC
)
A baritone rests on the table of a technician in the early stages of the repair process.
A baritone rests on the table of a technician in the early stages of the repair process.
(
Grant Slater/KPCC
)
Broken bows rest in a pile on a table at the Music Repair Shop.
Broken bows rest in a pile on a table at the Music Repair Shop.
(
Grant Slater/KPCC
)
Edwin Barker is one of two string instrument repair technicians remaining at Los Angeles Unified School District's Music Repair Shop.
Edwin Barer is one of two string instrument repair technicians remaining at Los Angeles Unified School District's Music Repair Shop.
(
Grant Slater/KPCC
)
A tray of floppy disks, one reading "PIANO RECORDS" on the label, sits next to a computer in the main hall of the LAUSD Music Repair Shop.
A tray of floppy disks, one reading "PIANO RECORDS" on the label, sits next to a computer in the main hall of the LAUSD Music Repair Shop.
(
Grant Slater/KPCC
)
Saxophones broken in other eras hang on the wall near the entrance to the district's downtown Music Repair Shop.
Saxophones broken in other eras hang on the wall near the entrance to the district's downtown Music Repair Shop.
(
Grant Slater/KPCC
)

Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.

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LA Unified's backlog of broken musical instruments 'like a war scene'

Getting supplies is a yearly ritual for students heading back to school. For music teachers, that can mean fixing up an old trombone or re-stringing a cello. But as KPCC's Mary Plummer reports, the process hasn't been easy this fall at LA Unified.