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Join us at the National Music Museum (NMM) on Saturday, September 6, for an “Ex-STRAD-vaganza” celebrating the NMM’s 1693 ‘Harrison’ Stradivari violin and its newly completed replica.Spotlight Talks with NMM Curator Arian Sheets will be held at 11:00 a.m. and noon. Sheets will present the original ‘Harrison’ Stradivari alongside the ‘Harrison 2.0’ replica, sharing insights into the process and significance of creating a copy of one of the museum’s most treasured instruments. At 1:30 p.m., NMM Educator Anna Van Kley will lead a “Strings to Strings” tour through the permanent exhibits.
The NMM’s ‘Harrison’ bench copy was created over the past two years by leading international luthiers participating in the prestigious Oberlin Violin Makers Workshop. Each summer, this intensive two-week program brings together master makers from around the world to study, collaborate, and build. A historic instrument is chosen as the focus of their work, and the ‘Harrison’ Stradivari project provided an extraordinary opportunity to explore 17th-century Cremonese techniques through direct observation, shared expertise, and craftsmanship.
Visitors will have the chance to compare the Stradivari ‘Harrison’ with its 2025 bench copy—can you tell which is which?
The day begins with Music Storytime at 10:30 a.m., when Anna Van Kley will read "Guitar Genius: How Les Paul Engineered the Solid-Body Electric Guitar and Rocked the World" by Kim Tomsic. This free program is made possible through generous support from the M.A. Everist Foundation.
All Discovery Saturday activities are included with museum admission. Discovery Saturdays are held the first Saturday of each month, offering unique programs and guided experiences throughout the museum.
The National Music Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. For more information, visit www.nmmusd.org.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
414 E Clark St (Corner: Clark/Yale), Vermillion, SD, United States, South Dakota 57069
