The 2019 AMIS meeting will be hosted by the Carolina Music Museum, Greenville, SC, May 15–18, 2019. This new museum had its grand opening in late March 2018, with an inaugural exhibit “Facing South: Keyboard Instruments in the Early Colonies.” Founded by Greenville arts advocates Steve Bichel, Beth Lee, and Tom Strange, it features a collection of more than 40 English, European, and American pianos and harpsichords dating from 1570 to 1845, collected by Tom Strange and now housed at the museum. During the meeting, attendees will also have the opportunity to visit the Joe R. & Joella F. Utley Collection of Brass Instruments in nearby Spartanburg, with curator Sabine Klaus.  This collection is rich in European instruments from the 17th to 19th centuries.  It also includes innovative American-made instruments of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as instruments from Asian and South Pacific traditions. 

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Please join us for the 2019 AMIS meeting at the Carolina Music Museum in Greenville, SC!

 

Greenville (population 70,000) is a revitalized mill town on the Reedy River in upstate South Carolina. Surrounded by natural beauty, it is a popular base for outdoor activities. Greenville is a lively city with restaurants, cafés and breweries, art spaces, galleries, shops and theaters. Among the city’s cultural attractions is Heritage Green, the home of the Carolina Music Museum. The Green also includes the Upcountry History Museum, displaying the history of the region from the eighteenth century to the present, and the Greenville County Museum of Art, notable for its Southern Collection. The Museum of Art holds the world’s largest public collection of watercolors by Andrew Wyeth and a large collection of works by Jasper Johns. Other city attractions include the pedestrian-friendly downtown (served by trolley), the Arts Community West Greenville (galleries, studios, shops, restaurants), African-American cultural sites (see https://www.visitgreenvillesc.com/things-to-do/african-american-cultural-sites/), and Falls Park on the Reedy, with its Liberty Suspension Bridge. For further information, see the city’s excellent website at https://www.visitgreenvillesc.com.

 

Greenville is served by Greenville Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), which offers flights to most major destinations in the US. The airport is about ten miles from downtown, and ground transportation includes the usual car rentals, taxis, Uber, and shuttles to some hotels.

 

Conference accommodation will be dormitory-style, on the campus of Furman University.Single rooms will be available for $145 for the 4 nights of May 15, 16, 17, and 18. This includes a non-negotiable linen charge (sheets and towels). Additional nights may be purchased for $36 each, but are limited to the nights of May 13 and 14. Checkout must take place on Sunday, May 19. The dorms are about a 10-minute drive from the Museum. Taxis, Uber, and ride-sharing with fellow attendees are recommended.

 

For those who prefer other accommodation, Greenville has many hotels: those in the area of the Carolina Music Museum include the Holiday Inn & Express Downtown Greenville (407 N. Main St), Home2Suites by Hilton Greenville Downtown (350 N. Main St), the Hyatt Regency Greenville (220 N. Main St), and Aloft Greenville Downtown (5 N. Laurens St). These are all within walking distance of the Museum. There are also many guesthouses and Airbnb possibilities. Attendees wishing to stay in non-conference lodging are advised to book early, as Greenville is a very popular destination. 

 

Parking at the Carolina Music Museum is limited, and only handicapped parking spaces will be available in the Museum’s lot. Conference attendees should park in the two-deck garage behind the Hughes Main Library (take Heritage Green Pl off Bunscombe St, between the Carolina Music Museum and the Museum of Art). The garage is a short walk from the Museum; you take a card to enter, but parking is free all day if you leave after 5:00 pm.

 

Registration on all days will take place in the Carolina Music Museum. 

 

The conference program includes papers on European brass instruments, keyboard instruments, musical instruments of East Asia, on presenting musical instruments in museum settings, and more. Concerts and lecture-demonstrations will feature instruments from the Museum’s collection, as well as reconstructions of other instruments. An evening session will be devoted to some new trends in organology, and a panel discussion will consider woodwind instruments in early America. We will also make an excursion to nearby Spartanburg to visit the Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection of Brass Instruments. The trip to this collection is limited to a total of 60 people; please register early to reserve your place (if the tour is full, there are many natural attractions, museums, and urban spaces to visit).