MIM’s Magical Music Box
You can travel to Korea and never see pyeongyeong (jade-stone chimes).
You can visit Kenya and never hear a nyatiti lyre.
Have you ever seen a Danza de las Tijeras (Scissors Dance)? Probably not.
You can experience these and more at the Musical Instrument Museum in north Phoenix.
This bandura (a plucked lute) is on display in the
Ukraine exhibit
Like many of the world’s great museums, MIM can’t be explored fully in one day or afternoon. Even before you visit, plan to return.
Unlike many of the world’s great museums, MIM is not just about “seeing.” It’s about hearing and experiencing, as well.
Sitting at the corner of north Tatum and Mayo boulevards, MIM opened in April 2010. Its creation was inspired – and driven – by part-time Paradise Valley resident Robert J. Ulrich, former CEO and chairman emeritus of Target Corporation. The museum has received numerous awards and international, regional and local media coverage. Less than a year from opening day, MIM was accepted as an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, one of six in Arizona, 160 nationwide.
Randy Lewis of the "Los Angeles Times" calls the mission to represent the musical culture of every nation “little short of astonishing.”
The "Wall Street Journal’s" Stuart Isacoff says the “complexity is stunning.”
"New York Times" reviewer Edward Rothstein says, “… there’s something here for every taste. . . .”
Richard Nilsen, "Arizona Republic" arts reporter, predicts the museum will become the “single largest way station for a voyage that has been going on since someone on the Serengeti shacked two sticks together in rhythm.”
The façade is made of Indian sandstone. The museum
was designed by Richard Varda with RSP Architects.
Ten Eyck Landscape Architects of Phoenix and Austin
designed the landscape.
The Experience
Guests just know that when they don the headsets issued with their admission tickets, they are transported to exotic corners of the world through musical instruments, the people who play them and the music they produce. The five galleries of instruments are organized by regions: Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Oceana and Latin America, Europe, and United States and Canada. The
audio guides provide sound track for nearly 300 sites within the galleries. Hidden identifiers at the exhibits activate the correct sound track as visitors approach the displays.
Each visit will produce a different guest experience. While MIM currently has on display about 5,000 instruments, the museum has another 10,000 in storage. New acquisitions arrive regularly through the doors of a loading dock that can handle a grand piano with ease.
When new instruments arrive, they are catalogued and put into a freezer to eliminate any living things that may have caught a ride in with them. The museum also has an extensive lab where damaged pieces can be restored before they are put on display or into storage. Behind a glass wall, the lab is visible to the public.
The museum hosts artists and exhibitions from arts organizations around the world. Currently, Elvis is in the house and so are some of his performing clothes.
In an exhibit on loan from Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., guests can trace Elvis’ journey through three decades, viewing his instruments, stage outfits and personal artifacts.
Among the most popular attractions is the Steinway piano on which John Lennon composed “Imagine.” No headsets are needed for this one. Guests can sit to enjoy video clips from a documentary by Capitol Records and Yoko Ono as well as an around-the-world performance of “Imagine” produced by Playing for Change.
For guests itching to try their hand at some of the instruments, the Experience Gallery on the first floor offers that opportunity. It’s a hands-on space where guests of all ages can strike a gong, strum a harp, play drums and more.
A 299-seat Music Theater hosts musicians from around
the world. For a schedule, visit themim.org.
The Conductor
If Ulrich is the composer of this masterpiece, then surely Bill DeWalt, president and director, is the conductor. Longtime anthropology professor and author, DeWalt came to MIM from his post as director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. When he was approached by the search team about the job, he said,“What are you thinking? I’m an anthropologist, not a musician.”
The search team responded this way: “You’ve worked and have contacts all over the world. You know how to raise funds. And, you’ve got to meet the guy (Ulrich) behind this.”
DeWalt was quick to understand Ulrich’s vision. “MIM is really a
big anthropological experience. The concept is simple, but it carries a profound
message,” DeWalt says. “At a certain level, we’re all the same.”
And different, too. Which is what makes it all so interesting.
– C. Miller
MORE ON MIM
Join the orchestra
MIM is funded completely from private sources. Donor opportunities are available, from funding an exhibit to adding a donor’s name to the Founders Wall. For more information, visit theMIM.org.
Bon Appetit
The Café food is superb, says "Arizona Republic" food critic Howard Seftel. It is run by Bon Appetit, a catering company that also serves the Getty Center in LA and the Art Institute of Chicago. More
Listen to the World
MIM is an experience waiting to happen. Click for a taste of the musical joy that is the language of the universe
