Category: Offers and Events

3rd Annual Clarinet Day

Posted on by Tori

We are excited to announce our 3rd Annual Clarinet Day at MMI!  April 13, 2019 from 10am-5pm.

Jonathan Gunn -clarinet professor from University of Texas - Austin, will be our featured guest artist. Jonathan will performing a small recital and giving a master class event.

Masterclass Participant Request:
- Participants will be selected based on repertoire and age. 4 performers will be selected by the artist; all decisions are final.
- Submissions can be made through the link below or by emailing your name, age, contract information and selected repertoire to [email protected] by EXTENDED DATE April 1, 2019 5:00pm.

Masterclass registration link

New! Solo Competitions
Performances open to the public

Junior division - ages 14-17:
§ 1st place = $200 cash price

§ 2nd place = $100 cash prize

§ 3rd place - $50 in-store credit

Senior division - ages 18- 26:
§ 1st place = $500 cash prize and invitation to attend Buffet's Clarinet Academy in July!

§ 2nd place = $200 cash prize

§ 3rd place = $100 cash prize

Submission deadline for solo competition is EXTENDED DATE April 7, 2019 at 5:00pm

Submissions can be made through the link below or by emailing [email protected] with your name, contact information and repertoire.

Solo Competition link

No accompanist required.

Schedule of Events

10-10:30am: Jonathan Gunn Performance

10:35-11:05am: Relaxation and Performance Techniques: Jennifer Gerth and Karrin Meffert-Nelson

11:10-11:40am: Clarinet Maintenance and Crack Prevention: Tori Okwabi and Caleb Rasmussen

11:45-12:30: Audition and Performance Preparation: Scott Anderson

12:30-1:00: Lunch break

12:45-1:45: Junior and Senior Solo Competitions (Open to the Public)

1:55-2:35: How to play in tune: Intonation and Voicing: Sang Yoon Kim and Gabriel Campos Zamora

2:40-4:20: Jonathan Gunn Masterclass

4:30-5:00: Clarinet Choir directed by Rena Kraut

Free small repairs throughout the day and a small lunch will be provided.

Competition Rules and Regulations:
1. Prepare 5 minutes max. of music from the standard solo clarinet repertoire. If you have questions about repertoire please
email [email protected].
2. Accompaniment and memorization is NOT needed. (Piano optional)
3. Entrants must supply 1 copy of their music for the judges.
4. Proper performance attire is expected.
5. Limit of 20 entrants per division allowed. Therefore performers are selected on a first come, first served basis. A wait list will be created in the event of cancellations.

Emily Brebach Oboe & English Horn Masterclass

Posted on by Jessica Nelson

 

You're invited!! FREE!!

Mini-recital
Masterclass
Reception following the class
Large selection of oboes and English horns for trial
Free small repairs

Emily Brebach joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra playing English horn and oboe in the fall of 2012.

Ms. Brebach, a Philadelphia native, has performed with several orchestras throughout the United States, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Kansas City Symphony, and the Houston Symphony.  In past summers, she has performed at the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Des Moines Metro Opera, Tanglewood Music Center, and the Aspen Music Festival. Prior to joining the ASO, Ms. Brebach held the position of English horn and oboe with the Sarasota Orchestra.

Ms. Brebach holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, and studied with Louis Rosenblatt, James Caldwell, Robert Atherholt, and Robert Walters.  She is an Artist Affiliate Instructor of Oboe at Emory University, a faculty member of the Atlanta Symphony's Talent Development Program and maintains an active private studio in her home.  Ms. Brebach has also given masterclasses and reedmaking seminars at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Florida State University, the University of Minnesota, the University of South Carolina, and the North Carolina School for the Arts. She spends her summers in residence at the Brevard Music Center in Brevard, NC, as English horn and oboe as well as artist faculty.

We look forward to seeing you at this great, FREE event!!  RSVP here!

Darrel Hale Bassoon Masterclass

Posted on by Jessica Nelson

Mini-recital with works by Bach, Mignone & Winstead
Masterclass
Reception following the class
Large selection of bassoons and bocals for trial
Free small repairs

Darrel Hale is the Assistant Professor of Bassoon at Louisiana State University and the Principal Bassoon of Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, he also performs regularly as a member of the Timm Wind Quintet and the Conundrum Reed Trio. Before joining the faculty at LSU, Mr. Hale serviced as the Acting Principal of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Bassoon of the Kentucky and Springfield Orchestras. His teachers include Dr. Yoshiyuki Ishikawa, Per Hannevold, and William Winstead.

We look forward to seeing you at this great, FREE event!!

Richie Hawley Clarinet Masterclass

Posted on by Jessica Nelson
You're invited!  

 

We are excited to host Richie Hawley on Saturday, September 30th from 2-4pm!  The class will be held at Midwest Musical Imports in our recital hall.  Please join us for this free and incredible clarinet event!
Mini-recital and masterclass
Reception following the class
Try our custom set-up clarinets hand-selected by Richie
Mouthpieces, barrels, reeds, and more available for purchase
Free small repairs

 

Richie is the professor of clarinet at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston and serves as the teaching and performing clarinet artist at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California.  A Buffet-Crampon artist, Mr. Hawley performs on the Tosca model of clarinet. He is also a D’Addario Woodwinds Performing Artist and Clinician, and plays exclusively on the Reserve Classic reeds and mouthpieces which he helped to develop.
Learn more at:  www.richiehawley.com

 

We look forward to seeing you there!!

Virtual Tour of Our New Location

Posted on by Jessica Nelson

We absolutely love our new location and think you will, too!!  The store has doubled in size!!  We've added practice/lesson rooms, a recital hall, increased the size of our repair shop and sales floor.  Please stop by for a visit!  We'd love to show you around!

Our repair staff working hard in the new repair shop!

Our new recital hall with seating capacity of 60!

One of our new teaching/practice studios!

A street view of our new space.

We look forward to welcoming you in the store soon!

Thank you for attending our grand opening celebration!

Posted on by Jessica Nelson

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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Nicholas Daniel Oboe Masterclass & Recital

Posted on by Jeff Marshak

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.

www.nicholasdaniel.co.uk

We've moved and are open for business!!!!

Posted on by Jessica Nelson

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!

20170110_100734 Our new shopping area

20170110_100833The brand new recital hall!  Watch for upcoming events!!

20170110_101010The repair staff (minus Allen) in the new repair shop!  L-R , Eric, Caleb, Ginny, Matt and Coda in the front!

20170110_121359Sales 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

Oboe Masterclass Led By Peter Cooper - Videos

Posted on by Jeff Marshak

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

Introducing the Selmer Présence Clarinets

Posted on by Brandon

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 Présence clarinets

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.

Used Instrument Warranty

Posted on by Jeff Marshak

When it's time to replace a musical instrument, sometimes purchasing a brand new instrument may not be an option. Midwest Musical Imports is pleased to offer a wide selection of high quality used instruments that will fit your needs.  We also offer a 1-year maintenance and crack warranty included with the purchase of select used oboes, bassoons, clarinets, and saxophones!

Call our instrument specialists at 612-331-4717 for further information and trial availability!