About
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Furtados Music
Established in 1865, Furtados has always been a leader in the field of Western music education and knowledge in India, from musical instruments & accessories to print music and digital equipment, having a complete spectrum of musical instruments in the Western and Indian categories.
Furtados has grown into a household name in the music business and has spread across Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Dimapur, Panjim and Margao. It has a growing retail network (20 showrooms) and over 350 dealer outlets. Furtados also holds a record number of international dealerships for top-of-the-line brands in music.
Furtados has progressively widened its range and scope of services and today holds a record number of international dealerships for top-of-the-line brands in music. Instruments are imported from all across the globe including the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, France, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka. Music books are imported from virtually every major music publisher.
The Family of Steinway Brands – Steinway, Boston, and Essex – occupies pride of place, in 10 Furtados piano showrooms across the country.
At the core of Furtados’ business motto is ‘Trusted Service’. In a pan-India customer survey conducted in the metros and other major cities, three factors characterised Furtados’ services – Quality, Reliability and Trust.
Furtados Online is the quintessential MI e-commerce site for India and is a watering hole for both dealers and retail customers.
In January 2011, Furtados launched a publishing joint venture with one of the world’s leading music book publishers, Music Sales Ltd, UK. The new company, Music Sales Furtados (India) Pvt Ltd, is focused on publishing Indian editions of best-selling Music Sales books, especially education-related (tutors, technique books, etc.), as also on developing local content by identifying and bringing into print music composers of Indian origin resident in India.
Furtados invests in developing musical knowledge through training workshops, master classes, clinics, demonstrations and exhibitions, and the sponsoring of local talent and artists.
Furtados School of Music was launched in June 2011 to provide quality and organized music education to students and aspiring musicians across India. With the help of a path-breaking international curriculum for the Piano, Keyboard, Guitar, Drums and Violin, they have been able to bring music to and currently teach over 25,000 students in over 85 points of presence.
Con Brio, the all-India Piano Competition and Festival in memory of John Gomes (the erstwhile patriarch of the Furtados Group) was a stupendous success when it was launched in 2010. Envisaged as an annual competition of international standard, it is now in its ninth year, with applicants from all over India, acclaimed pianists, adjudicators and judges from overseas, all participating in a Festival comprising concerts, masterclasses, workshops and a residential piano camp for select participants.
In June 2012, the Furtados Institute of Piano Technology commenced operations in Mumbai. This was an ambitious two-year project to train piano tuners and technicians for the whole Indian market, and not just for Furtados. It involved a two-year course covering tuning, regulating, repairing, rebuilding and restoring, and had been designed, administered and imparted by two accomplished professionals in the trade from the UK who moved to India for the duration of the project. The first 18 tuner-technicians were awarded diplomas in 2014 after completing intensive hands-on training in a 3500 square feet world-class facility in Mumbai. Today, the Furtados Piano Restoration Centre in Sewri, in southwest Mumbai, is headed by DJ Smallman from the UK, and the many restoration projects it undertakes bear testimony to the success of this initiative.
Furtados also invests in community development and supports several organizations across the country, including school and college events, musical activity in religious and charitable organizations, festivals as well as social upliftment projects involving a musical element.