“Amazing, totally amazing; the (closing) sale has been more successful than we ever could have believed,” says Susan Daynes, fighting back a tear. “It just shows the legacy Daynes Music has, how the community has supported us for so many years and that they just feel so sad we’re not going to be in business anymore. You just feel the love. It’s been really heartwarming.”
That’s how Utah is saying goodbye to a business that’s been here since Abraham Lincoln was president.
The Daynes Music Company first opened its doors in 1862 in downtown Salt Lake City at 10 E. First South, across the street from where the First Security building and City Creek Center now stand.
The proprietor was one John Frederick Daynes, who that summer arrived from Norwich, England, with his wife Eliza, son Joseph and daughter Elizabeth in a wagon train composed of 513 Latter-day Saint immigrants.
In John’s covered wagon was a small foot-pumped organ called a melodeon and a miniature accordion called a concertina, along with assorted watchmaking tools, the trade he brought with him from England. In the store he opened on First South, he sold watches, musical instruments and jewelry. Over time, the watches and jewelry lines were dropped.
But the music, that never died.
A big shot in the arm came just over a decade later, in 1873, when Daynes was “appointed” as the exclusive authorized dealer of Steinway & Sons pianos built in New York.
The Steinway brand was already the talk of the piano world — the Cadillac of pianos long before there ever was a Cadillac.
In the 153 years since, it could be argued that Daynes Music Company of Salt Lake City has sold more Steinway pianos than any store in the world. The business has numerous Steinway Awards in its trophy case, honors reserved for the piano-maker’s top dealers. Every public university in the state is a “Steinway School,” meaning all the institution’s pianos are Steinways — and all of them provided by Daynes.
In 2017, Skip Daynes, John’s great-grandson and fourth generation proprietor of the family business, was given Steinway’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for “leadership, high-volume sales, and significant contributions to music education.”
Photo Gallery: 1 of 10
Photo Gallery: 2 of 10
Photo Gallery: 3 of 10
Photo Gallery: 4 of 10
Photo Gallery: 5 of 10
Photo Gallery: 6 of 10
Photo Gallery: 7 of 10
Photo Gallery: 8 of 10
Photo Gallery: 9 of 10
Photo Gallery: 10 of 10
Skip, who took over the reins from his father Gerald, who took over from his father Royal, who took over from his father John, was the face of Daynes Music for nearly half-a-century, from 1967 until 2024, when he died at the age of 85. By that point, Skip and his wife Susan’s children were pursuing careers of their own. CEO Kerwin Ipsen, Skip’s right-hand man since 1987, was now in charge — the first time in its history a Daynes wasn’t at the helm.
But that’s not why the company is going out of business two years later.
It’s because Steinway decided to drop Daynes Music as its authorized dealer in the state.
As of April 15, a new business yet to be named will take over as Steinway’s exclusive Utah dealer.
The news — that Daynes was being replaced by a younger model — hit like a roadside bomb, both Kerwin and Susan Daynes will tell you. The business, which moved from downtown Salt Lake City to Midvale 31 years ago, was doing fine. But selling pianos is a far different game that it was in 1862, or 1962. Losing the Steinway franchise was losing the ace in the hole. It is not recoverable.
Three weeks ago, the signs went up at 6935 S. State Street: “Historic Piano Sale,” “Closing Forever!” “Every Piano Must Be Sold.”
And man, did people show up to buy them.
The store’s inventory soon ran out. “Five people were wanting to buy one piano,” says Susan. Daynes Music contacted Steinway, who sent more pianos to be sold on consignment. When those ran out, Steinway sent even more. At least 100 pianos, comprising the Essex, Boston and Steinway models, have gone out the door in the closing sale. That includes many top of the line Steinways priced between $100,000 and $200,000.
“Our floor was full and now it’s empty,” said Kerwin, who added, “Steinway was nice enough to send us all those extra pianos that we sold.”
A very Daynes way of taking the high road.
For 164 years, the business blended into the fabric of the valley, supporting the arts while supporting itself. The Daynes recital hall at the back of the store was in constant use, available to piano teachers and their students for a minimal fee. Music teachers have beat a path to Daynes for sheet music for what seems like forever.
“One woman came in and said, ‘I’ve been coming here for 60 years, I feel like I’m going to a funeral,’” said Susan Daynes. “She was so sad.”
Scenes like that have been happening every day since the middle of March — and will continue until April 14, when Daynes will sell the last of its Steinway piano inventory and the 153-year relationship will be over. The store will remain open another month or so, to sell off the odds and ends that are left, giving everyone a chance to bid farewell to the state’s oldest continually run family business.
Photo Gallery: 1 of 5
Photo Gallery: 2 of 5
Photo Gallery: 3 of 5
Photo Gallery: 4 of 5
Photo Gallery: 5 of 5
