One hand-me-down piano led to the next for Mathias Mustillo, who had been jamming and recording music with friends when he went looking for an instrument.
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The first piano was a dud but the second instrument he found was a bit better. The third one needed a tune. It set Mr Mustillo on a path towards tuning and repairing the complex instruments himself, impatient at having to wait for someone to come and do it for him.
Now the 29-year-old's house is filled with pianos, many of which were otherwise destined for the tip, and he has turned the passion into a full-time gig, saving, restoring and selling the instruments to a new generation of pianists.
"We noticed all these pianos being abandoned, getting thrown away, all of these pianos for free on Gumtree. 'Must go this week or will go to the tip'.
"And then at that point, that's when I started learning how to tune myself," he said.
Mr Mustillo now runs a kiosk on Allara Street, filled with pianos salvaged from hallways and lounge rooms, their original owners keen to be rid of them.
"A lot of the time they say the enjoyed the piano, they had a good time with it, but they're just ready to move on. They're not really attached to it anymore," he said.
The kiosk has quickly become a destination for lunchtime music making, with nearby office workers taking up the opportunity for a lesson in the middle of the work day.
"There are quite a few people who just want to come and play during the day," he said.
There is still plenty of interest in pianos, with more than 5000 new upright and 1000 grand pianos imported each year, according to statistics compiled by the Australian Music Association. About 30,000 digital pianos are also imported annually.
Alongside Mr Mustillo is William Mon, who teaches lessons from the kiosk and helps out with restorations and rescue operations.
The pair met when Mr Mustillo tuned the Broadwood and Sons grand piano the Green Shed offered as a prize for a talent competition in 2018. Mr Mon was an entrant.
About 20 pianos are available for sale at the kiosk, which Mr Mustillo hopes will provide people a far more affordable alternative to buying a new piano.
The pair comes across plenty of hidden gems, but not everything is worth rescuing. They usually deal with a piano a day.
"In a high heat situation, that would pretty much nuke the [piano's] critical component, which is the pin block, which holds all the tuning pins and strings," Mr Mon said.
"And if that gets exposed to a high heat environment for decades, it's going to nuke the thing totally."
Mr Mustillo said most rescued instruments were in good shape.
"The pianos we get are actually quite good ones, they come from nice houses where the piano has been maintained over its life. They're nice and new and glossy, maybe they just need a tune," he said.
The Piano Rescuers have also received a City Renewal Authority grant to continue putting public pianos through the city.
"We're working on waterproof, smart, upright pianos at the moment," Mr Mustillo said.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
