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Boardman man mixes music, Internet in player piano
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
Michael J. Moritz Jr. has spent the last year working with engineers, designers and manufacturers in Europe to create his own line of player grand pianos.
Now he is ready to unveil his work.
The Boardman resident and his pianos will be at Southern Park Mall beginning Monday, where he has set up a display in the main concourse. An accomplished musician, Moritz and guest artists will play the piano and demonstrate its features throughout the holiday season.
The pianos, which bear Moritz’s embossed signature, sell for between $6,000 and $24,000 and can be delivered before Christmas.
The instruments are made of top-quality components such as hammers and strings, and are visually striking with an elegant curve.
But what sets them apart is the player function.
The pianos’ automation system is integrated with Apple computer products, including the iPod and iPad.
Each piano comes with an iPad preloaded with thousands of piano performances ranging from classical, jazz and seasonal to current hits. The iPad wirelessly controls the piano keys and hammers from anywhere in the house, using iTunes.
“To my knowledge, we are the first to integrate wireless Internet connectivity, as well as the iPad, with a piano,” said Moritz.
The pianos are completely Internet-enabled, and users can add new music as desired.
Each piano also wirelessly connects to an Internet piano radio station. A user can simply turn the piano on, and it will literally play itself from the Internet, 24 hours a day.
The pianos also have the ability to record musical performances for playback.
“The Michael J. Moritz Jr. grand pianos are quite simply the most technologically advanced grand pianos in the world,” said Moritz. He also pointed out that the automation system, which controls the movement of the hammers, is completely hidden. “There are no visible controls or boxes attached to the piano to interfere with the superb aesthetics of its clean lines,” said Moritz.
Player pianos, made in ’90s and early 2000s, required changing CDs, and had a box strapped underneath the keys. Moritz said his design not only eliminates these flaws, but connects the piano to the endless capabilities of the Internet.
Moritz has been playing the piano professionally since he was 8. He started his own recording studio, Kontinuous Jams, 13 years ago while still a student at Cardinal Mooney High. He also attended Youngstown State University.
The pianos can be purchased at the mall and at Kontinuous Jams, 6911 Market St., Boardman. They will be available nationally as soon as Moritz finalizes distribution plans.
Moritz was the music director in residence for the Youngstown Playhouse from 2000-07 and has worked in theaters throughout the region as both a music director and conductor. He is currently the executive director of Ohio Public Broadcasting, a local production company. He has also played on dozens of albums, several of which are in national distribution.