From 065c285dc2c837d49c39394d9c7f83b4ade7f143 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Simon Willison Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2024 15:14:49 -0700 Subject: [PATCH] The Vincent and Ethel Simonetti Historic Tuba Collection --- museums.yaml | 63 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 63 insertions(+) diff --git a/museums.yaml b/museums.yaml index 8b6a76e..92f23b0 100644 --- a/museums.yaml +++ b/museums.yaml @@ -3087,3 +3087,66 @@ publication: FOX 13 author: FOX 13 News date: 2022-07-24 +- + id: 112 + name: The Vincent and Ethel Simonetti Historic Tuba Collection + url: https://simonettitubacollection.com/ + photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-card.jpeg + photo_alt: Over a dozen varied tubas in excellent condition, each with a neat label. + address: 1825 Chapel Hill Road, Durham, NC 27707 + description: |- + Vincent Simonetti collected his first historic tuba - a ~1910 Cerveny BB-flat Helicon - in Boston in 1965, while playing tuba on tour with the Moyseev Ballet Company. + + Today the collection has grown to more than 350 tubas, and is now the largest private collection in the world that is dedicated exclusively to members of the tuba family. + + The collection entirely fills five rooms of a bright yellow house in Durham, North Carolina. Tours take around an hour and a half, and Vincent will go deep into the history and mechanics of the tuba family, plus the many stories behind the instruments in the collection. + + The tuba family is defined by its conical shape, as opposed to the cylindrical form of the trumpet and trombone. + + The first tuba to be called a tuba was patented in 1835, and a model still exists in a museum in Berlin. The V & E collection's oldest tuba is from 1845 and is almost identical to that 1835 model. + + The oldest instrument in collection is a serpent from 1830 - still a member of the tuba family, but this one pre-dates the first airtight valve “tuba” by five years. Serpents date back to at least 1563 in France. + + Other collection highlights include representatives from many influential tuba manufacturers such as C.G. Conn, York, and H.N. White, many sousaphones, a [9-keyed ophicleide (keyed serpent) from 1865](https://simonettitubacollection.com/instruments-listed-by-manufacturer/manufacturer-f-k/gautrot/basancon-b-flat-ophicleide/), two double tubas (single instruments with two horns) and [one of only five double-belled alto horns](https://simonettitubacollection.com/instruments-listed-by-manufacturer/manufacturer-a-e/conn/conn-euphoniums/conn-double-belled-e-flat-alto-horn-4-piston-1891/) left in the world. + + The museum can be visited by appointment only (with 24 hours notice) every Tuesday and Thursday from 3pm – 6pm. + latitude: 35.989 + longitude: -78.924 + photos: + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-1.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-2.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-3.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-4.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-5.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-6.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-7.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-8.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-9.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-10.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-11.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-12.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-13.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-14.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-15.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-16.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-17.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-18.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-19.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-20.jpeg + - url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/tuba-collection-21.jpeg + press: + - url: https://abc11.com/localish-my-go-to-museum-tubas/5932497/ + title: "Have You Ever Heard of a Tuba Museum?" + publication: ABC11 Localish + author: Josh Chapin + date: 2020-02-26 + - url: https://www.wearestorydriven.com/tuba-museum/ + title: "Timeless Treasure: A Tale of 300 Tubas" + publication: StoryDriven + author: Marin Herold + date: 2018-02-14 + - url: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/article61315977.html + title: "Shaffer: Fabulous tuba museum opens in Durham. Womp!" + publication: The Charlotte Observer + author: Josh Shaffer + date: 2016-02-19