It was music to my ears when an old flame said he’d like to get together to reminisce. He’s the man whose gifts of jewelry I still clasp around my neck with a smile. After all, it’s a rare gift when one can remain friends with a former boyfriend.

But there was one problem. This is also the man who gave me the magnificent jewelry box in which to store those gems. Back then, when I lifted the lid, the box played our song. But it has been some time since the musical workings have sounded a note. It was time to find an expert who can make the box sing again, and soon.

Fortunately, Maine is home to music box repairman and collector extraordinaire Danilo Konvalinka. Located at 16-18 High St., his Wiscasset repair shop and museum go by the marvelous moniker The Musical Wonder House.

I wrapped up my jewelry box in a soft cloth and made haste to Wiscasset. Aware that Konvalinka has been repairing music boxes for 50 years – ever since he was a youth in Austria – I had high hopes he could fix my box.

One step through the door spelled enchantment.

After telling me someone must have cared for me very much to give me such a treasure, the music box man released in one gentle movement a tiny post that had been jammed under the lid. My box sang out its song gaily.

“You did just the right thing by bringing this here,” the music box man said. “The most common problem I see is the result of do-it-yourself repairs. It’s even more critical than clockwork to have an expert work on these things.”

Accumulated dust, unreleased spring actions, and minuscule parts all require the delicate care of those who truly know how to handle these musical marvels. “It also helps to have perfect pitch,” Konvalinka said, since repaired boxes must be in perfect tune.

Konvalinka took only a second to perform my repair, but some 5,000 music boxes, phonographs, and player pianos arrayed throughout The Musical Wonder House prove he is up to much more labor-intensive work. There’s one gilt box you can hold in the palm of your hand while a mechanical bird pops out, peeping melodically. Many more huge music boxes are set into fine pieces of furniture. They emit fabulously rich tones played by metal-toothed cylinders striking sounding elements. Some literally contain bells and whistles. Others hold miniature drums that are beaten upon by tiny drumsticks powered by the toothy cylinders.

Over the years, the music box man has restored and repaired these musical marvels for clients and for his well-named house of wonders. While pursuing a line of work he calls “a labor of love,” Konvalinka has yet to lose his own sense of wonder.