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| ABOUT THE COLLECTION |
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Holding over 2500 pieces of historical and contemporary musical instruments from all over the world, the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments is one of the largest accumulations of such artifacts housed in a North American university. Known internationally as a unique collection, it is not only a precious heritage from the past, but also a rich resource for musical, educational, and cultural needs of the present and future. Among its holdings are the trumpet collection of Armando Ghitalla, former principal trumpet player of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and University of Michigan faculty member; a collection of violin bows from Jerry Tetewsky; as well as the first commercially produced Moog synthesizer and the RCA theremin used during the WXYZ broadcasts of the Green Hornet from 1936-1952.
The collection features permanent and occasional displays in the Vesta Mills Gallery and in various exhibition areas throughout the Earl V. Moore Building of the School of Music of the University of Michigan. Exhibition hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Admission is free.
Additional displays are housed in the lower level of Hill Auditorium. Access to these displays is available during auditorium events only.
History of the Stearns Collection
In 1899, Frederick Stearns (1831-1907), a successful Detroit businessman who collected and studied many things to satisfy his own intellectual interests, donated a collection of 940 musical instruments to the University of Michigan.
Between 1914 and 1974, the entire collection was put on display on the upper lobby of Hill Auditorium, attracting the attention of many music lovers. Many long-time Ann Arborites still remember how the displays looked. While the displays were successful, the conditions in which the instruments were kept were far from ideal—many instruments, such as delicate harpsichords, were damaged by heat and dry air. Since the 1920s, interest in the collection declined, and the level of maintenance dropped further.
Fortunately, Professor Robert A Warner became the director of the collection in 1956, when interests in performance with historically authentic musical instruments emerged in the musical and scholarly world. Understanding current thoughts of the time, and realizing musical and cultural values of the instruments, Professor Warner began a process of restoration, promoting the collection through performances and scholarly papers and lectures.
In the 1960s and 70s, the collection expanded significantly with the establishment of the ethnomusicology program in the School of Music. Professors William Malm and Judith Becker brought back many instruments from their field trips in Asia and Southeast Asia. In 1966, the collection acquired a complete Javanese gamelan, which has, since then, become an integral part of the teaching and performance of world musics.
In 1980, Professor Malm became the director and launched various efforts to implement the mission of the collection. Among these, the publication of the Stearns Newsletter, and the establishment of the Virginia Howard Martin Lecture series were particularly noteworthy. As the collection expands, however, human and financial demands also increase, challenging the limited resources of the collection.
In 1986, the collection moved to its current site, the Margaret Dow Towsley wing of the School of Music. In 1993, Professor Malm retired, and in 1997 Professor Joseph Lam succeeded Professor Margo Halsted as the director of the collection. In 1999, the second century of the collection began, and today the collection continues to grow, while tours, concerts and lectures are regularly scheduled to advance the knowledge of the world's musical instruments.
Stearns Mission
The mission of the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments is to preserve musical instruments, advance organological knowledge, and to promote understanding of world cultures and musics. To achieve this mission, the Collection actively mounts displays of musical instruments, presents lecture-recitals from national and international performers/speakers, and provides opportunities for organological research. These activities support the musical and intellectual research of the faculty and students at the School of Music, University of Michigan, and also complement the diverse interests at the University of Michigan, aiding its role in the creation, exploration, and understanding of culture in local, state, national, and international communities.
Musical instruments from the immediate and remote past are not only precious objects that deserve preservation, they are also evidence of human creativity, musical technology and heart-felt expressions. Every structural and stylistic feature of a musical instrument is meaningful, reflecting the resources their creators have, the sounds they desire and the messages they want to communicate. Musical instruments reveal evidence of people and cultures and deserve to be preserved by the best means available. Every one of the musical instruments in the Stearns Collection is a treasure of humanity that we want to preserve for not only ourselves but our descendants.
Embodying peoples’ musicality and cultures, musical instruments constitute a repository of organological knowledge that needs to be studied, transmitted to all interested practitioners and preserved for the future. Advancing organological knowledge is particularly critical for the present as the standardization of musical instruments in the global market silences distinctive traditions. Holding more that 2200 musical instruments from all over the world, the Stearns Collection is in a unique position to advance research that will help to sustain and disseminate particularlized knowledge about world musical instruments.
As precious and meaningful as all historical and current musical instruments are, they are mere physical objects if they are not used to give voice to the hearts and minds of the peoples living in diverse sites and temporalities. When expressively used, musical instruments and the music they produce constitute a means for us all to hear the cultural, ethnic, social and individual yearnings and understandings of humanity, To bring a full experience of these instruments and the meanings they carry to audiences of all ages, so that they may listen skillfully and sympathetically is what the Stearns collection aspires to achieve with its programs of concerts, lectures displays and publications about world musical instruments and musics.
Stearns Activities and Publications
Virginia Martin Howard Lectures
At least four lecture/recitals per academic year featuring local and national speakers/artists. Recent activities have included:
- Prof. James Wierzbiki, "Shocking News? The Current State of Electr(on)ic Music ," March, 2006
- Mr. David Orlin, " Bows and Bowmaking 1705-2005: History, Mystery, and Hope for the Future," January, 2006
- Professor Du Yaxiong , " Uygur music, musical instruments, and mukams," January, 2006
- Mr. Christopher Dempsey, "Treasures of the Stearns Collection," November, 2005
Co-sponsored Concerts
- "A Marriage Proposal and Its Response: A Performance of Classical Chinese Musical Theater," May, 2006
- "Shahnaz: Arab Music Ensemble," December, 2005 and April. 2006
The Stearns Newsletter
A newsletter published twice a year (November/April) about the collection and its activities.
Please see upcoming events for a schedule of the current academic year.
Stearns People
Management Committee
David Schultz, chair
Robert Whitman
Joseph Lam, ex-officio
Staff
Joseph Lam, director
Christopher Dempsey, curator
Carol Stepanchuk, docents and tours
Ted Lottman, displays and exhibits
William Malm, director emeritus
Suzanne Camino, assistant to the director
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