More about William Young Pianos

Originally a one-man band, our reputation has grown and the business has flourished alongside it.

Piano restoration has always been at the heart of William Young Pianos, and remains so to this day. We usually have around a year’s worth of private restoration jobs on the books at any one time, despite increasing our team in recent years to try to keep pace with demand.

If you're in the market for a piano, contact us to find out current availability. With a wealth of knowledge and experience across the entire team, everyone at William Young Pianos Ltd is dedicated to finding you the right piano to combine your requirements and budget - whether new, second-hand or restored.

We are now settled in to our workshop and showroom at Kentisbeare, Devon EX15 2BQ. Building work is progressing well, and will result in a superb work space and much larger showroom than we have ever had previously. We are trading as normal, but if you visit us at the moment, please do bear with us while work is ongoing.

We are a few minutes' drive from Junction 28 of the M5, within easy reach of Exeter, Bristol, Taunton, Tiverton, Honiton, Cullompton and Wellington – well situated for clients to visit. As we're a small team and often out on the road, we ask that visits be by appointment please, so that we can ensure we are available to discuss your requirements.

Tom Read is in great demand for tunings in domestic, commercial and educational settings

Pixie oversees everything and prides herself on her attention to detail!

Pixie's a great poser when the camera comes out!

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Meet the team

In recent years the business has grown significantly. The team now comprises:

William Young

Director

William (Bill) Young is a classically trained pianist who began his studies aged 6. His fascination with pianos was sparked at a young age when his late father took him to a piano workshop.

Bill learned his trade as an apprentice to traditional piano restorers in Winchester, before setting up his own business in 1994. He now has over 30 years’ experience within the piano trade and has developed an encyclopaedic knowledge of pianos, through painstakingly detailed restoration work on a vast range of instruments.

Henry Perry

Piano Restorer

Our brilliant technician and restorer Henry is also a concert pianist, so there’s no-one more discerning when it comes to quality control in the workshop! He holds a Master's degree in piano performance and was named Steinway Fellow of the Year at the London College of Music during his time there.

Henry's patience, high standards and meticulous regulation work are in great demand by numerous musicians whose pianos pass through our workshop. Henry is highly skilled in all areas of piano restoration, from action rebuilds and restringing to casework. As the most organised member of the team by far, Henry also manages the workshop schedule.

Tom Read

Tuner and Technician

Tom has recently decided to become self-employed once more, in order to spend more time with his young family following a house move.

We would like to thank Tom for his tireless efforts in looking after numerous William Young Pianos clients over the past few years. We fully support Tom's desire to stay closer to home with his bookings going forward and will still be working closely with him. However, Bill and Barney will be undertaking more tunings in our usual areas from April 2025. Please bear with us during this transition - we will do our very best to keep looking after everyone!

If you'd like to book a tuning, please call 01884 906313 or email [email protected] with your postcode and we will put you in touch with the tuner that covers your area.


Pixie

Supervisor

Pixie is often in the workshop and poses the moment she sees a camera! Her skills include squirrel surveillance and making friends with clients and delivery people. Pixie loves to go out on the van when she's allowed to and is the undisputed queen of our social media feeds! She even has her own Instagram account - follow her @pixieyoung2015

Pixie is a firm favourite with the lovely ladies at Kentisbeare shop and Post Office in the village, where she inevitably runs behind the counter to find her treats!

Barnaby Carter

Tuner

Barnaby Carter has joined the William Young Pianos team part time to help with Tom's tuning and minor repair workload as our tuning business expands.

Barnaby completed a traditional 4 year apprenticeship at a piano workshop in Bristol, before gaining a first class degree in piano tuning and restoration at Newark College, the well respected and last remaining training facility for aural piano tuning in England.

Barnaby and Tom have tuned for numerous famous faces at festivals, public concerts and private events, including Alexander Armstrong, Alfie Boe, Benjamin Clementine, Will Dutta, Jack Johnson, Keane, Des O'Connor and the Ronnie Scott Jazz 5.

Sarah Roberts

Administrator

Sarah Roberts deals with most of the administrative and office work, so she’s often the first point of contact with William Young Pianos. Sarah works part time for us and also teaches piano, both privately and at a primary school. She specialises in teaching beginners and intermediate students of all ages.

Sarah has been with William Young Pianos for over 20 years and has amassed a great deal of knowledge, so is well placed to handle restoration and sales enquiries. She is, however, less keen than the rest of the team on technical chat comparing the merits of different sets of chisels!

In Memoriam: Edward Jacobs

Sales Associate

A professional pianist, teacher and musical director, the late Edward Jacobs was a wonderful pianist, fount of musical knowledge and a friend to all the team - and he always brought cake when he visited the workshop! Ed is much missed by us all.

Bring your piano back to its best

Call our team of experts now

Scrapbook

The Scrapbook

Pianos we've worked on, from cottage uprights to concert grands