“Have you ever seen so many clarinets?” asked Associate Professor of Music Dr. Jeremy Wohletz to his students as they looked towards the Clarinet Gallery at Schmitt Music. Melissa Morales, a clarinet specialist at Schmitt Music and a friend of Wohletz invited him to bring out his clarinet students for a tour and to try out instruments and other clarinet gear. With around forty different clarinets and additional accessories to try out, this trip gave the students a great firsthand experience and created an opportunity to learn about different instruments and profiles. According to Amanda Housel, a senior composite music education major, “This is something that is difficult to do where we live, and it is important for us to be able to test the instruments before buying them since they are not inexpensive. We were able to tour the entire store and see how they tailored each gallery to the “personality” of the instrument.”
In addition to a full tour of the entire store, Dr. Wohletz was invited to give a recital and take part in a masterclass to help Minnesota High School students with their upcoming All-State auditions. Housel commented, “We were able to attend a recital and masterclass conducted by Dr. Wohletz and learn from him as he coached area high school students through their preparation for the upcoming all-state auditions. This is a skill that will be important for us as future music educators.”