Ryan joined the team at The Antique Piano Shop as a way to make a career change. Ryan was studying in Knoxville at the University of Tennessee to pursue a degree in Bio Chemistry when he realized he no longer wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. He has a background in sales for a hardware manufacturer and playing pianos, so restoring pianos sort of seemed like a natural place for him. Ryan’s favorite part of restoring pianos is getting to know the stories behind each of the pianos he works on. He enjoys learning about the history of when the piano was made and figuring out how to design a working part the same way it was designed 100 or more years ago when it was first built. He also likes how every piano is different and the process of restoring isn’t like working in a manufacturing plant where you do the same job every day.