a month ago
Co Creator: 
560
11
Posted On: September 10th 2026, 07:07 pm
Tagged Users:
Robert Soper has tuned pianos for San Francisco Botanical Garden’s Flower Piano festival since it began in 2015, bringing more than 50 years of piano tuning experience to a tricky job.
12 pianos scattered throughout the Botanical Garden are an unusual sight — and pianos and San Francisco’s damp conditions don’t exactly mix. Still, tens of thousands of music lovers flock to Flower Piano each year to take part in one of the city’s most beloved traditions.
SFGATE’s Melissa Cho visited the garden the day before opening night to learn how Soper and his tuning partner, John McArdle, prepare and maintain each piano to withstand San Francisco’s famously foggy conditions.
Find more local stories like this at @sfgate.
Video by Melissa Cho/Social Video Editor. Additional camera assistance by Brendan Lange.
12 pianos scattered throughout the Botanical Garden are an unusual sight — and pianos and San Francisco’s damp conditions don’t exactly mix. Still, tens of thousands of music lovers flock to Flower Piano each year to take part in one of the city’s most beloved traditions.
SFGATE’s Melissa Cho visited the garden the day before opening night to learn how Soper and his tuning partner, John McArdle, prepare and maintain each piano to withstand San Francisco’s famously foggy conditions.
Find more local stories like this at @sfgate.
Video by Melissa Cho/Social Video Editor. Additional camera assistance by Brendan Lange.
Comments (11)
a month agojohnhcho88
We should experience these twelve pianos in Golden Gate Park by ourselves...❤️🙌😍😂
a month agoeileenpg
I am teaching a class at Flower Piano Friday Sept 18, 11 am. I will teach you how to draw a piano! https://gggp.org/event/easy-sketching-with-eileen-flower-piano/
More posts
