Grant Billings has been fascinated with pianos since he first started going to work with his father at age seven. Following in his family’s footsteps, he began his entertainment career in high school; first as a keyboard player, then as a mobile disc jockey for nearly 30 years.
Grant studied business in college, worked at his family’s piano stores, and was a District Sales Manager for one of the world’s largest piano manufacturers. A strong advocate of music education, he founded the Steinway Society’s Annual Young Artist Piano Competition in 2000 and continues to speak with teachers, parents and legislators around the country.
Grant Billings & Steinway Artist Harry Connick – 2013
He currently is the owner of Steinway Piano Gallery and serves as the president of the Steinway Piano Society of Southwest Florida. He is an expert in the history of the modern piano and the Steinway piano, as well as a piano appraiser.
“My experience makes it easy to help people find the perfect piano,” he explains. “Most of the people I meet don’t really know a lot about pianos, even if they’ve played for a long time. Helping a family find a piano for their child or helping someone find their dream piano… that’s one of the best parts about my job.”
Grant with UW coaching legend Barry Alvarez – 2015
Grant is an emeritus member of the University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Music Board of Visitors, has served as Communications Chair and the editor of Nuances, the newsletter of the Madison Area Piano Teachers Associated, on the Madison Area Music Association (MAMA) board of directors, as president of Rhapsody Arts Center from 2012-2014, and as president of the Interior Design Society Naples Chapter (IDS Naples) from 2003-2004.
Grant with is friend and mentor, Henry Z Steinway – 2007
He was the first person to earn two Master’s Degrees from the William Steinway University, the industry’s most demanding advanced training program. He served on the NAMM President’s Circle in 2008 and was the first winner of Rhapsody Arts Center’s “Friend of the Arts Award” in 2013.
Grant is an expert in 1980’s popular music and enjoys spending time with his family, reading, practicing yoga and of course, listening to music.
Greg Billings is a musician, industry leader and author who toured with the rock band “The General Store” in the southern U.S. in the late 1960’s. In addition to being owner of the Steinway Piano Gallery, Greg was the founding secretary of the SPELLS group and author of the Piano Retailer Code of Ethics. He was elected to the National Association of Music Merchants Board of Directors in 1993. He is also founder of the Southwest Florida Steinway Piano Society, which began in 1997, and he served on the FGCU Scholar’s Club Board of Advisors. Author of numerous articles and letters published in Music, Inc. and Music Trades magazines.
Now retired, Greg recently joined a 1970’s cover band, plays timpani with the Bonita Springs Concert Band, and plays keyboards in the worship team at Tree of Life Church in Naples.
Zeb Billings (1930-2010) was an incredibly talented musician, composer, publisher, and inventor who even had his own variety show on television in the 1960’s. After founding Billings Pianos in 1956, he set his sights on finding ways to make learning to play music easier. Long before YouTube and DVDs, Zeb created “multimedia” lessons that combined color-coded keys, cassette tape based instructions and the piano. A prolific publisher, he also created some of the first self-instruction piano and organ courses. Later, he developed children’s books with interactive music and sound effects known as ‘talking books’ that featured Disney and Sesame Street characters. Zeb was an active musician until shortly before he passed away and continued to compose and write arrangements when he could no longer perform. Click here to read the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel’s feature about Zeb
Roy (Red) Billings (1904-1990) A versatile musician who’s Dixieland Band “Red Billings and his 5 Shillings” toured the Midwest during the 1920’s,
Roy was a serial entrepreneur, at one point distributing his own “Billings Beer” in the Milwaukee area. He was a genius inventor with more than 70 patents. He founded Milwaukee Hydraulics Corp and held several patents relating to the modern hydraulic crane.
He is pictured at the far left, sitting at the drums.