Musical Instrument Museum (Phoenix)


The Musical Instrument Museum is located in Phoenix, Arizona. Opened in April 2010, it is the largest museum of its type in the world. The collection of over 15,000 musical instruments and associated objects includes examples from nearly 200 countries and territories, representing every inhabited continent. Some larger countries such as the United States, Mexico, India, China, and Brazil have multiple displays with subsections for different types of ethnic, folk, and tribal music.

Overview

The Museum was founded by Robert J. Ulrich, former CEO and chairman of Target Corporation. A collector of African art and a world museum enthusiast, Ulrich and his friend Marc Felix originated the idea after a visit to the Musical Instrument Museum in Brussels, Belgium. The design of the museum benefited as well from the consultation of the Musée de la Musique in Paris modernised in 1997.
The contemporary building covers approximately 200,000 square-feet, with two floors of galleries. The museum was built at a cost of over. The exhibit for each country features a flat-screen high-resolution video showing local musicians performing on native instruments. Visitors can listen to the performances through a wireless device with headphones that is activated automatically when an exhibit is being observed.
The facility contains a 299-seat theater for concerts, which are held primarily after regular hours. Joshua Bell recorded his album "French Impressions" in the theater in 2011. There is also a cafe with both indoor and outdoor seating.
A large number of musical artists have appeared at MIM, including Martha Reeves, Lyle Lovett, Wanda Jackson, Jordin Sparks, Ronnie Spector, Altan, Ramsey Lewis, and George Benson.

Layout

Ground Floor

MIM’s collection is presented in Geographical Galleries that focus on five major world regions. Here it contains ethnic, tribal, and folk musical instruments or musical instruments from various parts of the world, These are:
The Geographic galleries of the museum is a collection of instruments and exhibits that focuses on the five major world regions.
The Artist Gallery of the Musical Instrumental Museum of Phoenix is where visitors can see the clothes worn by many singers. They can also see and hear the original instruments played by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, John Lennon, Carlos Santana, Tito Puente, Taylor Swift and many other artists from around the world.