Collection of Musical Instruments

One of the leading resources of its kind, the Collection includes nearly one thousand musical instruments from antiquity to the present, from Western and non-Western traditions. Many of the instruments are maintained in playing condition and are available for performances and demonstrations in the fine acoustic of the gallery, as well as tours and other outside opportunities.

The unparalleled array of keyboard instruments includes organs, clavichords, harpsichords, spinets, virginals, and pianos, representing the major regional schools across three centuries. Over half of the instruments on display have been restored to playing condition.

String instruments are well represented, with examples from the Italian, German, French and English schools of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the violin-family instruments are in playing condition, as are representative examples of the viol and plucked-string families.

The collection of wind instruments has grown steadily in recent decades and includes pieces by important 18th and 19th-century European makers as well as the flourishing school of makers on this side of the Atlantic.

Non-Western musics are represented by a growing breadth of instruments from Asia, Africa, and South America.

In addition to musical instruments, the Collection includes numerous accessories, including items like bows and mutes as well as paintings, drawings, and books relating to the instruments and their musical cultures.

Hours : Academic Term
Mon Tue-Fri Sun	Closed 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location 15 Hillhouse Ave, New Haven, CT  The entrance to the Collection of Musical Instruments is located on Hillhouse Ave between Trumbull and Grove St.
Phone E-mail	(203) 432-0822 musinst [at] pantheon.yale.edu