If you’ve ever wandered through the Musical Instrument Museum in north Phoenix, you might have found yourself standing in front of a massive window looking into a room that looks like a cross between a science lab and a music store.
It’s called the conservation lab and it's where Rodrigo Correa-Salas spends his days restoring historic instruments and, sometimes, rebuilding them. It is intricate and exact work that involves a vast array of knowledge of obscure instruments and hard-to-source materials like gut strings and rare African wood.
The Show got to peek inside the world of instrument conservation recently with Correa-Salas and MIM curator Rich Walter.
