The Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments, held by the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

, consists of over 2,500 historical and contemporary musical instruments from around the world. The basis of the Collection is a gift made to the University by pharmaceutical businessman Frederick Stearns in 1898. Known internationally as a unique research collection, its holdings include the trumpet collection of

Armando Ghitalla Armando Ghitalla (June 1, 1925 – 14 December 2001) was an American orchestral trumpeter. He studied at the Juilliard School, and performed in the New York City Opera, the New York City Ballet, and the Houston Symphony. He was a member of the Bost ...

, former principal trumpet player of the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

and

faculty member; a collection of violin bows from Jerry Tetewsky; as well as

Robert Moog Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesi ...

's first commercially produced

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

from 1964 and the RCA

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

used during the WXYZ broadcasts of the

Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media ...

from 1936-1952. A Catalog documenting the Collection's holdings was published in 1918 by Albert A. Stanley, with a second edition published in 1921. In 1988, Professor James M. Borders published a catalog featuring the Collection's European and American wind and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

instruments.Borders, James M., "European and American Wind and Percussion Instruments: Catalogue of the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments, University of Michigan, 1988 FrederickStearns

The museum's collections include a number of forged or altered items, purchased by the founder from the notorious Italian instrument dealer Leopoldo Franciolini. The museum's web site and signage are unusual among musical instrument museums for the scrupulous care with which these items are identified. The collection is exhibited in the lower lobby of the University's

Hill Auditorium Hill Auditorium is the largest performance venue on the University of Michigan campus, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The auditorium was named in honor of Arthur Hill (1847-1909), who served as a regent of the university from 1901 to 1909. He bequeathe ...

on the Central Campus and at the Earl V. Moore Building on the North Campus.

References

External links

The Stearns Collection Website, The University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Digitized 1918 Catalogue of the Stearns Collection

Digitized 1921 Catalogue of the Stearns Collection

"In the Stearns Collection, forgotten musical artifacts find a home", Michigan Daily, October 4, 2009.

"The Baroque Recorders in the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments", The Galpin Society Journal, August 1970.

{{authority control Museums in Ann Arbor, Michigan Musical instrument museums in the United States Music museums in Michigan University museums in Michigan University of Michigan 1898 establishments in Michigan

See also

References

External links