Falling piano sales force Atlantic Music Center in Melbourne to close after 28 years

A couple of weeks ago, Claire Beaudry stopped at Atlantic Music Center on Wickham Road to get the skinny on the store’s next season of concerts.

For Beaudry and her friends, the piano concerts at Atlantic’s intimate concert hall were not to be missed, and she was anticipating next year’s batch of artists.

To Beaudry’s dismay, however, she discovered that she would never again enjoy those evenings of classical piano. Owner Brian Gatchell decided to pack up the showroom, which he opened in 1990, and its concert venue.

“I feel so sad it won’t be there,” said Beaudry of Melbourne.

In the end, the score was Pianos: 0 and Cell Phones: 1, that drove Gatchell’s decision.

“There is not as much a demand for pianos as there used to be,” said Gatchell. “Every child now seems to have an electronic device in their hands, and it is pretty hard for them to focus on a piano. Piano teachers tell me they have much less students.”

According to Gatchell, the piano industry in the United States never fully recovered after the recession. In 2005 before the crash, new piano sales in the United States averaged 100,000 annually, compared to about 30,000 last year.

Music stores, according to IBISWorld, have been out of tune with consumers for about five years now.

According to a research published last month, IBISWorld said, “Despite increasing consumer confidence and per capita disposable income amid recent economic growth, the industry's revenue declined.” Culprits for the downturn include decreasing time spent on leisure and sports, as well as increased digitalization, which “has led consumers to shift away from industry products and services. “

“As a result, revenue has fallen steadily,” the IBISWorld report said, a trend expected to continue at least into 2023.

For new pianos, the hot spot is now China.

“That is where all the piano sales now are,” he said.

While the concerts promoted piano music, the store depended on piano sales and service for its livelihood. Atlantic Music Center is an authorized Yamaha and Bösendorfer retailer and houses the largest collection new and used acoustic and digital pianos in Central Florida. It is the largest piano rebuilder in the Southeast.

Atlantic Music Center’s building has been sold to a nearby fencing store, and plans are for it to be gutted into warehouse space.

All is not lost, however, for while the showroom and concert hall will be history come Nov. 16, Gatchell will continue servicing and rebuilding pianos and dealing with institutional piano sales for Yamaha and Bosendorfer from warehouse space at 150 East Drive in West Melbourne. A worldwide customer base accounts for almost half of all sales and repairs.

“We are not going out of business,” said Gatchell. “We will be focusing on piano rebuilding, tuning and moving going forward.”

Gatchell, a native of Ohio, started Atlantic Music Center 28 years ago after a career as a concert artist with Baldwin.

“Every year I would come to Florida to perform, and I kept wondering why I was still living in Ohio,” he said.

A good friend and piano rebuilder introduced Gatchell to the area, and he was hooked.

“I played on many poorly serviced instruments during that time, so I wanted my company to do better for the music community,” said Gatchell.

A decade ago, Atlantic Music launched annual concert seasons that brought top-notch piano talent such as Hyperion Knight, Alexander Peskanov and Valentina Lisitsa to the area. Gatchell hopes to somehow continue supporting that level of performers locally.

His association with the American Jazz Pianist Competition, which he started, also stays in place. However, there is bad news for Brevard fans on that music scene, for the competition, now considered tops in the country for the genre, will leave its Melbourne home turf for either Savannah or New York City.

While the news is not good for Brevard piano aficionados, they can at least still grab some bargains at the Atlantic Music farewell sale. Better hurry, though.

“We sold 15 pianos in a couple of days because we have priced them to liquidate them so we can move on,” said Gatchell.

Like Beaudry, life will not be quite the same for Cynthia Connor after Atlantic Music leaves Wickham Road.

“I was probably their first patron,” said the West Melbourne resident. “I did not miss a concert. It was fantastic to have such a piano concert hall in the area. It was perfect.”

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Atlantic Music Center

Where: 25. S Wickham Road, Melbourne

Info: Call 321-725-5690 or visit atlanticmusiccenter.com.

Also: For a current inventory of pianos available during Atlantic Music Center’s liquidation sale, visit atlanticmusiccenter.com/piano-inventory.

Atlantic Music Center will close Nov. 16.