Schubert Club Museum of Musical Instruments, St. Paul, MN

Visitors can find the Schubert Club Museum of Musical Instruments at 75 W. 5th St, St. Paul, MN 55102 on the second floor of the Landmark Center. There is no admission fee to enter the museum and the hours are Sunday through Friday from 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm. The museum is closed on Thanksgiving weekend, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, April 4th, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. Tours are presented by an interpretive guide. If there are more than five people in the group guests are asked to call ahead.

The Schubert Club began in 1882 with the suggestion of then Governor Alexander Ramsey's daughter Marion Ramsey Furness. She and some of her friends that loved music put together a club called "The Ladies Musicale''. They held lectures, concerts and study groups to the accompaniment of music from the club's members. They eventually changed the name to The Schubert Club in honor of the famous musician Franz Schubert. Volunteers led the organization until it was decided that professional management was needed in the mid 1960's. Many famous musicians of the day have played at the Schubert Club including Isaac Stern, Leontyne Price and Vladimir Horowitz.

Guests of the Schubert Club Museum will be guided through the evolution of the keyboard which entails the beginnings in Italy with the Harpsichord to the Streicher Grand Piano. There is an impressive collection of manuscripts from famous musicians that are rotated throughout the years. A place has been set up so that guests can journey through the history of the Schubert Club's beginnings. This space also has concerts and special social gatherings. Recital music is presented in a room that preserves the history of the music.

There are several temporary exhibits that are housed in one of the rooms of the museum. They could include the creation of music boxes or Edison's revolutionary phonograph. Visitors can try out the Gamelan musical instruments which have been around for nearly one thousand years. In the Musical Experimentation room visitors can use their imagination to invent a new musical instrument and compose music to go along with it.

Schubert Club presents five international artists concerts per year in the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets can be purchased individually or as a subscription. Every Thursday at noon from October through April there are free concerts at Landmark Center. These concerts are listed as Courtroom Concerts.

The Schubert Club offers education experiences for students. They offer Student Scholarships in April where approximately $50,000 is awarded to young musicians. A Jazz Piano Scholarship Competition awards three finalists a chance to perform at the Dakota Jazz Club. They also have instituted special grants that they offer to serious and talented music students that need help to further their education. Master classes, Project Cheer which offers free music lessons to young students, and a Composer Mentorship Program are part of the education series that the Schubert Club presents on a regular basis.