Passion key to Edmonton man's accordion repair efforts
A west Edmonton man is using his passion for the accordion to assist other accordion players in Alberta and around the world.
Chris O’Donovan moved to Canada in 2011 from Ireland, with a deep love for the accordion, but a small problem: He had no one to help maintain it.
“I didn’t have any repairmen in Canada who could do the work for me, so I pretty much learned how to do it myself," he chuckled.
Not long after arriving in Canada, he found himself repairing other people’s accordions.
“Each accordion takes about eight hours to tune at a minimum, but there’s multiple factors involved like the age of the accordion and the quality of the internals.”
The reviews of O’Donovan’s new part time business have been overly positive.
“His work is very good, he’s very exacting. He’s precise in his work," said one of his loyal customers, Garry O’Brien.
O’Donovan receives a new accordion to repair around three times each month.
“He has people from different countries sending their instruments to him! People from the States, South America, from Europe here to Edmonton.” O’Brien continued.
O’Donovan credits first picking up an accordion to his late grandfather.
“I kind of feel responsible to keep the instruments going, to restore these vintage instruments and to give them a new voice again.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'The root cause': Canada outlines national action plan to fight auto theft
The federal government is launching what it calls its 'national action plan' to combat auto thefts, which will include stronger penalties for thieves, and increased information sharing between police agencies, government officials and border enforcement.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
The world's best airline is paying staff a bonus of 8 months' salary
Singapore Airlines will reward its employees with a bonus worth nearly eight months of salary, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday.
Michael Cohen says he stole from Trump's company as defence presses key hush money trial witness
Michael Cohen testified Monday that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from his ex-boss Donald Trump’s company, an admission defence lawyers hope to use to undermine Cohen’s credibility.
Red Lobster probes 'endless shrimp' losses after bankruptcy filing
U.S.-based restaurant chain Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Florida court after securing $100 million in financing commitments from its existing lenders, the company said on Sunday.
'Next man up': Canucks coach, teammates bracing for Game 7 without Brock Boeser
Questions about how the team is going to handle the absence of star winger Brock Boeser from a do-or-die game seven dominated pre-game interviews with the Vancouver Canucks coach and players Monday morning.
Katy Perry sings goodbye to 'American Idol'
Katy Perry said her goodbyes on 'American Idol' after seven seasons. On Sunday night’s live 'idol' season finale, a medley of Perry's hit songs were performed, including 'Teenage Dream,' 'Dark Horse' and 'California Gurls.'
U.S. Supreme Court rejects appeal from former Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by a Canadian-born former Guantanamo detainee who was seeking to wipe away his war crimes convictions, including for killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.
Woman, 35, in critical condition after her truck collided with a Via Rail train near Montreal
A 35-year-old woman is in critical condition after the pick-up truck she was driving was struck by a Via Rail passenger train Monday morning in Quebec's Monteregie region.