World's First Museum for... Musical Instruments!

The MIM. That's what they call it. I met a rep from the Musical Instrument Museum at the APAP conference in January who announced that with the final stages of construction almost complete, the exhibits were now being prepared for a launch end of April for a museum in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, that would house instruments from every country in the world.

The stated vision for the museum includes the following: "The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) celebrates music as all of these things—a sustaining human gift and wellspring of global culture. We invite people from every nation and walk of life to come and share in this common legacy, be amazed by the beauty and diversity of musical instruments from all across the globe, and be enriched by their sounds and the stories they have to tell."

The plans are for a full multi-media experience, where your headset automatically plays music of the instrument closest to you on display, with additional images and videos of the instruments performed in various cultural settings. In addition to displaying and preserving instruments ranging from the Jaw Harp to the Xylophone, the MIM plans to present live performances, so musicians, get in touch with them if you are interested in a gig at the MIM!

By the way, they also have some job openings - check them out here