National Music Museum facts for kids
The National Music Museum (NMM) is a special place in Vermillion, South Dakota, USA. It's a museum all about musical instruments! It started in 1973 at the University of South Dakota. Many people call it "America's Shrine to Music" because it's so important.
The museum has a huge collection of over 15,000 instruments. These come from all over the world and from different times in history. You can see some of the oldest and best-preserved instruments here. Because of its amazing collection, the NMM is known all around the world.
The museum is currently closed for a big update and expansion. It plans to reopen in late 2021. The current director of the museum is Matt Collinsworth.
About the National Music Museum
The National Music Museum works together with the University of South Dakota. The university helps with staff and keeps the instruments safe. A group called the NMM Board of Trustees helps get new instruments and plans exhibits for visitors.
The museum began with a private collection of about 2,500 instruments. These belonged to a person named Arne B. Larson. His son, Dr. André P. Larson, was the first director of the museum. Later, Dr. Cleveland Johnson became the director.
The NMM is located in an old building that used to be the university's library. It was built in 1910. Inside, there's a concert hall where music can be played on old instruments. There's also a special library and a lab to fix and care for the instruments. The museum even has tools for making violins and many old brass instrument mouthpieces.
The museum also has many other items related to music. For example, it has a large collection of labels from violin makers. It also has the biggest collection of archives from American musical instrument makers. Experts from all over the world visit the NMM to study music history. This gives students a great chance to learn from them.
What You Can See at the Museum
The NMM is the only place in the world where you can see two 18th-century grand pianos made with a special design by the piano's inventor, Bartolomeo Cristofori. One of these pianos was made in 1767 in Lisbon, Portugal. The other was made in 1781 in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, France. It's the oldest French grand piano still existing!
Other amazing keyboard instruments include a virginal from around 1520 and three 17th-century harpsichords. You can also see harpsichords from England, Germany, Portugal, and France. There are also clavichords from Germany and Sweden.
The museum has about 500 instruments made by the C.G. Conn Company. This company was in Elkhart, Indiana, in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This collection is very important for learning about American instrument making and the history of bands.
The NMM also has many wind instruments from the 1600s and 1700s. These were made in Nuremberg, Germany, by famous families like the Denner family. You can also find rare Dutch woodwind instruments from the same time period.
The museum's collection of old Italian stringed instruments is better than any in Italy! It includes instruments made by famous makers like Andrea Guarneri and Antonio Stradivari. Two of these instruments from the 1600s are still in their original condition. The NMM also has one of only four Stradivari guitars in a museum and one of only two Stradivari mandolins known to exist.
These collections of American, Dutch, German, and Italian instruments are truly unique and can't be found together anywhere else.
The NMM is also a top place to study the history of the saxophone. This is thanks to the John Powers Saxophone Collection and the Cecil Leeson Saxophone Collection.
In 1996, the museum received the Rosario Mazzeo and Bill Maynard Clarinet Collections. This made the NMM a leading center for studying the clarinet.
The Joe & Joella Utley Collection, added in 1999, made the NMM a top place to learn about brass instruments.
The Alan Bates Harmonica Collection, given in 2000, is one of the largest and most important harmonica collections in the world. Only the Harmonika Museum in Germany has a bigger one.
In 2005, the museum received the D'Angelico, D'Aquisto, Gudelsky Workshop collection. This led to a big exhibit called "Great American Guitars." It featured guitars from famous makers like D'Angelico, D'Aquisto, Fender, Gibson, Martin, and Stromberg-Voisinet.
In 2007, the museum bought a very rare English cittern from the late 1500s at an auction. This instrument is probably the only one of its kind from the Renaissance period that still exists!
Images for kids
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National Music Museum, Vermillion, South Dakota
