WAUKEGAN - If you walked by the back door of the building at 114 S. Genesee St. on Halloween night, you might have seen a worman standing on the sill of one of the large picture windows, wiping it down to a crystal-clear clean.

You also might haw heard the sound of a piano being played, echoing off the walls of the space that will soon open as the city's newest downtown business

Alice Alviani (the one cleaning the windows) and Mark MacLeod (the one playing the piano) have been hard at work preparing to open their joint venture Family Piano Co., for the past six months.

It will all be realized Nov. 9, when the business partners host their official ribbon cutting and open the doors to a show room offering a variety of pianos at a wide range of prices.

Both Alviani and MacLeod, have worked as Piano technicians for a combined 35 years.

Alviani, a longtime Waukegan resident, has been making house calls on pianos in need of tune-ups for the past 12 years throughout the area. MacLeod has been working on pianos for 23 years, most recently as director of technical services for the Steinway & Sons company.
Alviani said she and MacLeod were dedicated to making an impact on people's lives through music.

"We decided ... we could do amazing things to really touch people and hopefully change their lives,'' she said. "There's a lot of people in the world who are lonely for music. I'm not saying music is going to change the world, or that we are, but if we hadn't had music in our teens or 20s, we'd really be a mess."

MacLeod mid he became involved for that reason as well, and felt he and Alviani would make a good team.

"Alice is the most competent piano tech I'd met in years" he said. "I've been doing this 23 years, I basically came right out of college and kept gravitating towards piano."

MacLeod, who was trained at the American Conservatory of Music, will provide six months of free lessons to teenagers and adults who purchase a piano at the Waukegan store,

The Family Piano Co.'s "flagship" model will be the Perzina line. one of Germany's best known brands, which is known for its patented floating soundboard, floating plate, and reverse soundboard crown design.

Like a true connoisseur MacLeod even knew the elevation at which the trees used to make the soundboards were grown - 1,000 to 1,400 meters.

While Family Piano Co. will offer high-end brands such as the Perzina, Steinberg and Ebel, Alviani and Macleod added their showroom floor would also consist of less expensive refurbished and starter pianos. The store will offer financing options, Alviani said.