Two solid teams. The pledge of a strong company…
The owners and founders André Bolduc and Michelle Lord, supported by a solid team of directors and piano technicians, now work at the Montreal store. The store sells Steinway & Sons pianos and offers a range of pre-owned pianos, along with multiple technical services from the home to the concert hall.
Following the acquisition in 2018 of the Saint-Joseph factory and store by Christian Bolduc, a second generation now manages the Beauce facilities. Christian, backed by his sister Catherine, both graduates of the best German and American schools, deliver in Saint-Joseph all the services including retail sales, restoration workshop, manufacturing, and offshore product exporting.
1978
THE SPARK
A professional cabinet-maker by trade, André Bolduc decides to repair his wife’s antique piano. 
1979
A PASSION IS BORN
André decides to attend a training course in the United States and soon becomes an active member of the Piano Technicians Guild, an international association for piano tuners and rebuilders. 1980
TOWARDS PERFECTION
André attends various intensive training courses in Germany and in the United States. 1985
CREATION OF THE BOLDUCBLOCK MAPLE PINBLOCK
Realizing that the quality of the available pinblocks on the market did not correspond to his strict cabinet-making criteria, André creates his own Quebec maple pinblock. Our Canadian sugar maple Acer saccharum turns out to be the best material for this component. 1988
FIRST FACTORY
Following the success of the sales of his maple pinblocks and increase of piano restoration contracts, André builds his first factory and hires two employees. 1990
OPENING OF ARQUEMUSE MUSIC SCHOOL
Michelle Lord, André’s wife and associate, gets involved in the cultural field and creates the Arquemuse Music School, which she directs for 25 years. 1991
CREATION OF THE BOLDUC SOUNDBOARD
Realizing that most soundboards in older pianos often have numerous cracks, André advocates for Canadian white spruce as the raw material for his new soundboard. He rapidly obtains a first contract from an American manufacturer and is forced to expand the original workshop to meet the increasing demand. 1993
A SAW MILL IN OUR OWN YARD!
The art of the quarter-sawn cut - specific to the making of all stringed instruments - does not correspond to the standards industrial sawmills in Quebec. André consequently installs his own sawmill to quarter-saw logs in accordance with the traditional practices familiar to Luthiers and piano makers for centuries. 1996
SUCCESSION ASSURED
Already involved in the company during their studies, Christian and Catherine Bolduc move to Germany to pursue intensive training in piano manufacturing, tuning and design. 2007
ARQUEMUSE CONCERTS
The generous participation of the Saint-Joseph parish council allows for the creation of a concert society – Arquemuse Concerts – offering recitals and high level classical concerts, along with a jazz component, for five years. 2008
MONTREAL STORE OPENING
André and Michelle at Pianos Bolduc expand and open a piano retail store on Blvd. St-Laurent in Montreal. 2011
STEINWAY & SONS AUTHORIZED DEALER
It is in October of 2011 that Pianos Bolduc officially becomes the new Steinway & Sons, Boston and Essex exclusive dealer for the province of Quebec. Its 30 years of expertise in the piano field thus recognized, this new banner store represents the culmination of a lifelong career of dedication to the musical arts. 2018
CHRISTIAN BOLDUC ACQUIRES THE FACTORY IN SAINT-JOSEPH
In June 2018, Christian, who has been directing the Saint-Joseph facilities for ten years, officially becomes the owner of Pianos Bolduc Inc. A second generation of the family-owned company that has gained worldwide recognition in the piano field is now firmly established. THE TREES, OUR GREATEST NATURAL RESOURCE
At Bolduc Pianos, the trees are of paramount importance in the manufacture of piano components, which is why we pay very special attention to them.
ENVIRONMENT
We only collaborate with suppliers who are committed to reforestation and we acquire logs from forests that are officially listed as reforested and perpetuated.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
We are constantly researching and developing new ways to optimize the use of our number one raw material—wood.
RECOVERY
We recover wood waste and make it available to local residents. Sawdust is used as bedding on local farms and bark for heating maple sugar shacks. We sell to Quebec luthiers shorter pieces to be used for acoustic bracing in guitars.We recover shorter maple pieces for use by Abel, the German hammer company for making piano action parts, such as hammers (Bolduc Blue brand) and shanks.
ANDRÉ BOLDUC
PRESIDENT – PIANOS BOLDUC MONTRÉAL INC.
Born in Montreal in 1947, André Bolduc attended Academie Roussin and initially considered a career in the armed forces. He then studied at Royal Military College in Saint-Jean and his interest in aviation led him to take flying lessons as he obtained his commercial pilot’s license in 1969.
After studying management and procedures, André quickly became a qualified manager of large numbers of personnel at Sicard Machinerie, Canadian Buttons, and Thibault Furniture. He then took up a career as a police officer with the Sûreté du Québec and in 1978, he was transferred to Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce. There, he became a qualified cabinet maker. Having developed an acute knowledge of woodworking and the time-honoured traditions of furniture making, André bought an Ivers & Pond grand piano for his wife, Michelle, and proceeded to rebuild it. This was essentially the genesis of the family enterprise.
For more than 30 years André has developed into a highly skilled and world-renowned piano craftsman and a major retailer of new pianos in Montreal and Quebec City. He has also become a very popular instructor at the Piano Technicians Guild conferences, teaching new techniques and revolutionary methods for piano repairs. Due to his expertise and innovations, André has acquired a worldwide reputation as a piano restorer and maker of components and fine products for the piano.
In 2011, André became the exclusive distributor of Steinway & Sons pianos for the Province of Quebec.
CHRISTIAN BOLDUC
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE – PIANOS BOLDUC INC.
At an early age, Christian showed an obvious interest in working with wood and often accompanied his father to the woodworking shop. After finishing high school in 1993, Christian enrols in cabinet making at the National Furniture School in Victoriaville.
On his return to Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, he begins restoring pianos with his father before pursuing, in 1996, intensive training in piano production at the Schimmel piano factory in Braunschweig, Germany. After returning to Canada, he perfects his art of installing pinblocks and soundboards with a renowned piano rebuilder, Peter Mohr, owner of the New England Classic Piano Restoration at Manchester, New Hampshire.
Christian offers tutorial classes about pinblock and soundboard replacement all around the world for the Piano Technicians Guild as well as the Europiano association.
MICHELLE LORD
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – PIANOS BOLDUC MONTRÉAL INC.
Michelle was born in New Brunswick where she completed her academic studies and her musical diploma before moving to Montreal and later to Quebec City. She held positions as secretary/receptionist at McLean Budden Investment Managers, at the Industrielle Compagnie d’assurance sur la vie, and finally as principal secretary at W. Rourke Ltd, general contractor.
In 1978, newly arrived in Beauce with her family, Michelle quickly became interested in the activities of André’s piano rebuilding business, and continued to be involved in the development and evolution of the company Les Pianos André Bolduc.
Michelle has managed the family business since the very beginning in 1978 and now acts as general manager for Pianos Bolduc Montreal, exclusive distributor of Steinway & Sons pianos for the Province of Quebec.
CATHERINE BOLDUC, RPT
SALES DIRECTOR AND TECHNICIAN/TUNER – PIANOS BOLDUC INC.
Following her technical and piano-tuning studies in Toronto in 1995, Catherine continued her year-long training at the Schimmel Piano Technicians School, adjacent to the Schimmel piano factory in Braunschweig, Germany. In 1998, she took a course on QRS MIDI system installation at the Story & Clark factory in Seneca, Pennsylvania.
Throughout her career, Catherine has aspired to the status of concert technician, having successfully completed numerous intensive training seminars at world class piano manufacturers Fazioli, Schimmel, Sauter, Bösendorfer, and more recently at Steinway & Sons where she received advanced training on the SPIRIO system. She is an alumnus of the Piano Technicians Guild since 2003 and acts as a consultant for numerous Asian manufacturers.
Catherine is the sales director for the Quebec and Beauce regions. Thanks to her broad experience, Catherine is critically acclaimed as an in-demand concert technician and is able to serve our most demanding clients such as recording studios and concerts halls everywhere in Quebec.
JEAN-FRANÇOIS AUBIN
DIRECTOR – PIANOS BOLDUC MONTRÉAL INC.
Jean-François started with us in March 2013 as assistant director. Backed by his experience in the music industry sales field, Jean-François efficiently manages the store on Saint-Laurent Boulevard.
Among other things, he takes care of the computing and social network departments. He coordinates the piano rental services for music events and consults with the technicians who offer in-home service. Jean-François is a talented manager who is indispensable at our Montreal store.
KATHLEEN SWINFORD
RECEPTIONIST AND SHIPPING COORDINATOR – PIANOS BOLDUC INC.
A member of the Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce team since 2002, Kathleen holds many different positions. She is receptionist-operator, and administers shipping procedures. She handles order placements at the international level and is in charge of the online shop. She also supervises the receipt of pianos imported from the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Her numerous administrative and accounting tasks are a precious asset for Pianos Bolduc. We appreciate her dedication!
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