Yamaha Artist Services, Inc. is a subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation of America. It was brought into being in April 1987 as Yamaha Concert & Artist Services, in the United States, having originated that same year in Paris, France, as "Centre Européen des Activités Artistiques". For a time, Yamaha managed the program within its new West 57th Street "Yamaha Communications Center", or "YCC" facility, located near Carnegie Hall. YCC closed in 1992. In May 2004, the current facility was opened. The program maintains relationships with classical piano performing artists and the performing arts world in general, by extension. Its current quarters occupy two entire floors of the historically designated on the Northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and East 54th Street. This complex includes a hall known as the Yamaha Piano Salon and a brass and woodwind atelier, showroom, and custom shop.
Corporate purpose
Chiefly, "YASI" is devoted to the public exposure of Yamaha Pianos, through the professional use of the pianos by artists, producers, and recording engineers. Yamaha Artist Services, then, manages not only the facility on Fifth Avenue, but a large pool of pianos, placed at dealers and at various venues around the United States.
Piano floor
YASI utilizes one floor of 689 Fifth Avenue entirely for piano activity. The third floor features its Piano Salon and facilities needed to stage and rehearse musical performances. Opera companies and artist management companies have, as an example, used the salon for opera training, as the acoustic environment is adjustable and can adequately support live performance.
Brass and Woodwind floor
YASI maintains an atelier on its eleventh floor. The floor's facilities include a showroom and a custom shop for instruments of the brass and woodwind family. Artists are permitted, by appointment, to consult with technicians about their instruments, have them adjusted if requested, and to sample Yamaha instruments.
Address
Located in the 1927-opened Aeolian building at 689 Fifth Avenue, the third floor piano salon was originally occupied by a showroom of the Aeolian Piano Company, which made its reputation in organs, reproducing organs, pianos and most particularly piano roll mechanisms and rolls themselves from 1887 until 1985. Encompassing the entire third floor, the Piano Salon features a performance venue seating up to 150 and houses a selection of concert grand pianos and "Disklavier" performance reproducing pianos. The floor also features various facilities for accommodating performing artists, a stage which can accommodate multiple pianos, business offices, and room for piano technical work. Each window on the third floor is sealed by hinged glass panels, which keep street sounds from entering the space. A device and product designed by Yamaha, known as "Active Field Control", is capable of enhancing the native acoustic of the Piano Salon to simulate an aural concert environment – useful in performances and recordings. The Aeolian Building itself was designated a NYC Landmark in December 2002.
Selected personnel
Terry Lewis, who had a 26-year career at Yamaha, from 1982 to 2008, retired as Executive President of Yamaha Corporation and as President of Yamaha Artist Services. He was, in 2004, the founding President of Yamaha Artist Services. Tom Sumner '', upon Lewis' retirement in 2008, became President of Yamaha Artist Services.
