Featuring clarinetists: Scott Anderson, Nina Olsen, Jen Gerth, Tim Zavadil. Noon to five pm, May 13th, 2017.
Category: Blog
Thank you for attending our grand opening celebration!
I would like to extend a very heartfelt thank you to everyone that came to our grand opening celebration! For those of you that came, emailed, sent flowers or called with your best wishes, we are extremely grateful. Below are some photos from the event.
A big thank you again to our generous sponsors/vendors: Buffet-Crampon, Fox Products, Loree, Puchner, Heckel, D'Addario, Peak, and Clark Fobes.
We look forward to many more events and please keep an eye on our calendar for updates!
Best wishes,
Jessica Nelson, General Manager
Owner and founder, Mike Aamoth gets a thumbs up after the Friday night reception from long-time customer, David Braslau.
Katie with customers at the Friday night reception.
Friday night reception.
Friday night reception.
Friday night reception.
Eric thanks a customer after work in the repair shop.
Our first customer during the celebration on Friday!! Jessica with her friend and oboist, Siri Garnaas
Friday was repair technician, Matt Reich's birthday! We surprised him with a cake.
Julie Gramolini William, Chris Marshall, and Greg Williams, of the MN Orchestra during their trio performance
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Recital Space and Teaching Studios available!
Recital Hall use:
$20/hour for rehearsal during business hours
$25/hour for performance during business hours
$50/hour for performance after hours
Rates are: $10/hour for studio use.
Please inquire with Jessica for more details. [email protected] 612-331-4717
Recital hall with audience seating, dimmable lighting, and a baby grand piano.
Nicholas Daniel Oboe Masterclass & Recital
We are thrilled to welcome internationally renowned artist and chamber musician, Nicholas Daniel for a Masterclass and recital here at Midwest Musical Imports on Saturday March 25th, 2017 from 2:30 -5:30 pm!
Mr. Daniel will give a brief recital and then work with several area college students. The event is jointly sponsored by Marigaux Paris and Midwest Musical Imports. We will have Marigaux oboes to play before and after the event. We will also have a reception with snacks post masterclass. Please join us for this wonderful opportunity to hear and work with this amazing musician!
Nicholas Daniel – Oboe and Conductor
Nicholas Daniel’s long and distinguished career began when, at the age of 18, he won the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition. As one of the UK's most distinguished soloists, he has become an important ambassador for music in many different fields. In recognition of this, he was awarded the prestigious Queen's Medal for Music.
Nicholas has been a concerto soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras, working under conductors such as Edward Gardner, Sakari Oramo, Roger Norrington, Jiri Belohlavek, Mark Wigglesworth, James MacMillan and Mark Elder. In addition to his experience in Baroque music, he has premiered works by composers including Harrison Birtwistle, Henri Dutilleux, Thea Musgrave, John Tavener, James MacMillan and Michael Tippett. His recording of oboe concertos by Vaughan Williams and MacMillan was awarded the BBC Music Magazine Premiere Award in 2016.
He is oboist with Britten Sinfonia and Artistic Director of the Leicester International Festival. He teaches in the UK and in Germany, where is he Professor of Oboe at the Musikhochschule, Trossingen
He made his conducting debut at the 2004 BBC Proms with Britten Sinfonia. He has conducted many projects with the orchestra over 20 years, including many new works, and recently conducted orchestras in Finland and Norway.
An active chamber musician, Nicholas is a founder member of the Haffner Wind Ensemble and the Britten Oboe Quartet, whose debut disc will be released on the Harmonia Mundi label early 2017. He also regularly works with the pianists Charles Owen and Julius Drake, and with the Carducci and Vogler String Quartets.
Nicholas plays a Marigaux 901 FSC model, the first Oboe anywhere in the world to be certified as fairly traded by the Forestry Stewardship Council.
We've moved and are open for business!!!!
We are extremely happy to announce that we have moved to our new location and most importantly, WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!!!!! Please visit us at: 1621 E. Hennepin Ave., Ste. 100, Minneapolis, MN 55414. (Only two blocks away from our old location!) Our email and phone contacts have not changed.
If arriving by car, take East Hennepin to 16th Ave SE, and park either on 16th Ave SE (it's a dead end), or the parking lot across from the west entrance on 16th. If needed, there is a ramp located at the back of the building at the main entrance. Please call us with questions. We are located in the southwest corner of the Fisk building, at the corner of 16th Ave SE and E. Hennepin Ave.
The new space is much larger than our old and includes a recital hall! Our repair dept. and the retail shopping area have been expanded. Below are some photos. We can't wait to welcome you in the store!
Our new shopping area
The brand new recital hall! Watch for upcoming events!!
The repair staff (minus Allen) in the new repair shop! L-R , Eric, Caleb, Ginny, Matt and Coda in the front!
Sales staff in the new sales area! L-R Jeff, Steven, Jessica, Katie, Brandon, Tori.
We thank you for your patience over the new year as we were closed and completed our move. Please stop by and say hello when you are in the area! We'd love to give you a personal tour! =)
Best wishes from all of us at MMI!
Jessica, Jeff, Steven, Katie, Brandon, Tori, Eric, Ginny, Matt, Caleb and Allen
Welcome Richie Hawley!
We are excited to announce our collaboration with Buffet-Crampon artist and Rice University's Richie Hawley! Richie is currently the Professor of Clarinet at the Shepherd School of Music in Houston, TX. He is a highly sought after performer and teacher and we are honored to join forces with him! Our current plans are to send Richie to the Paris Buffet-Crampon factory in September to hand-select high quality instruments. His goal is to find instruments that are versatile for any player!
“I’m very excited to be working with MMI to hand-select instruments. There are few shops that can combine an excellent selection of instruments with specialists who can tailor their instruments to your needs. The folks at MMI are fun, knowledgeable and are guaranteed to give you great service!” -R.H.
Once the instruments arrive at our store they are professionally set-up to ensure that they are in top playing condition for trials. This includes changing critical pads, adjusting tone holes and spring tension. You will be amazed by the difference our changes make!
We have a great variety of clarinets in stock including the new Tradition. The instrument is easy blowing yet the depth of the sound is not compromised. These instruments are a must try! We also have a great selection of Eb, A and Bass clarinets. Our Prestige and Tosca bass clarinets are always in stock!
Our generous 7-day no deposit trial system also allows you to take up to three at a time! Call us today to set up a trial and feel the difference in our clarinets!
(Richie at the Buffet-Crampon factory in Jacksonville)
(Richie working with our repair specialists)
Oboe Masterclass Led By Peter Cooper - Videos
Back in September, we were very fortunate to host Colorado Symphony Principal Oboist and Marigaux Artist Peter Cooper for a masterclass event. We had 5 amazing student participants, instruments and accessories, and a day full of oboe. Here are a few videos to share from the event.
Vincent Persichetti's Parable for Solo Oboe - Michaela Helms, oboe
Ralph Vaughan Williams Concerto for Oboe - Jenni Neuski, oboe
Crack Repair
Ever wonder what goes into the crack repair process on your oboe or clarinet? Take a look! Eric, our head repair tech, takes you through the process of repairing a crack.
MMI Exclusive Sharpening Steels
Now in stock and ready to ship, the Dual-sided sharpening steels for reed knives have returned! After a long hiatus, we began working with a new manufacturer approximately 8 months ago and have finally created a product which is of the highest standards for our customers. The micro-grooves are just fine enough to remove an ultra-fine layer of metal from your knife while the smooth side of the rod will add a very fine edge which is extremely sharp. We have spent a great deal of time with our manufacturer in production to ensure that every detail is perfect and we can present to you a product that we stand behind 100%!
These steels will be exclusively distributed through Midwest Musical Imports.
Check them out in the webstore or you can give us a call in the shop at 800.926.5587 to get yours!
Instrument Cases - Is Yours Damaging Your Instrument?
As many players know, our instruments travel just as much as we do. Our instruments spend quite a bit of time being removed from and placed into their cases. If you're investing in your instrument, be sure to invest in an instrument case that cares for your woodwind too.
Many instruments that come through our repair shop suffer from ill fitting cases. Some cases can actually be detrimental to your instrument's safety. Reoccurring problems on your horn (rods becoming loose, keys going out of alignment) might actually be caused by the way an instrument fits in the case. We have seen bent keys from cases fitting both too tight or with excessive movement. If your current case is not fit to your instrument, be sure to attend to this issue. Scratched plating and blemishes in the body of an instrument can be caused by a loose bocal, screwdriver or other items left in the case. Consider a case with an outer zipper pouch to collect all of your accessories! We're here to help and our sales team has many options to offer when considering updating your case. Visit our online store to see our options for cases: oboe cases, bassoon cases, clarinet cases, saxophone cases. We can also special order cases--call us for more details.
From the Pros - Nathan Hughes, Principal Oboe Metropolitan Opera, Faculty The Juilliard School
Midwest Musical Imports has always held close relationships with many prominent solo and orchestral players throughout the world. Whether they're trying instruments, hand-selecting instruments for sale, purchasing accessories, or just stopping in for a visit we are always pleased to work with these phenomenal musicians.
In our oboe department we work closely with a number of players who hand-select instruments and are always willing to offer tips and advice for any aspiring oboist. Nathan Hughes, principal oboist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Oboe Faculty at The Juilliard School, is one such player that which we have a close working relationship with here at Midwest Musical Imports. Considered to be one of the leading orchestral players as well as a sought after pedagog, Mr. Hughes' experience and expertise as a player and performing artist is highly valued and we are grateful for the partnership we share with him!
In a recent series of videos produced for the New World Symphony, Mr. Hughes offers advice on a variety of subjects ranging from articulation, phrasing, and audition preparation. We'll be featuring these videos over the coming months as part of an information resource for oboists!
Video #1 - Double-Tonguing
video courtesy of the New World Symphony Orchestra
Introducing the Selmer Présence Clarinets
We have two brand new Bb Selmer Presence clarinets by SeleS in stock and ready to go out on trial. Selmer has finally manufactured a great professional clarinet at a more affordable price so contact Brandon at [email protected] or 1(800)926-5587 if you would like to give them a try.
Selmer says:
Henri SELMER Paris unveils, under the new brand SeleS, a never before seen clarinet called Présence.
Thanks to its innovative bore design, this clarinet has unique acoustic qualities that provide ease of emission, exceptional homogeneity and above all an instrument that is easy to play.
The sound of the Présence clarinet is a mix of harmonic richness, and timbre; essential characteristics to the instrument. Also, the research done on the position and size of the tone holes has given this clarinet unrivalled intonation.
Specially designed keys, as well as new key orientations and positions, provide unmatched mechanical precision and response combined with player comfort.
Selmer Présence clarinets are available in B-flat and A with two keywork finishes available: silver and nickel. An E-flat lever is also available as an option.
The grenadilla wood is selected, delicately worked, naturally treated, lacquered and waterproofed for a protection and finish at the top of its class. This clarinet comes equipped with Valentino pads, preferred by many clarinetists and recommended by experienced repairers for their seal, stability and durability.