We believe that good quality repair work is tied to the success or failure of the musician, whether youÌre a beginner or a professional. Our philosophy is that every musician should have an instrument that plays well, without leaks, squeaks,cracks or buzzes.

Woodwind and Brass
Jean Carey, woodwind specialist, apprenticed with Niles Gadbois at his shop in South Minneapolis in 1975. In 1977 Jean agreed to come to Cadenza and start our repair shop. Since then she has repaired instruments for beginners, amateurs, members of the Minnesota Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and both local and touring professionals. She's straightened flutes that were sat on, and one that was used to bean a little brother. She's pulled chemistry notes and love letters out of tubas and saved many a recital or concert with last minute repairs. A flute player herself, Jean looks for the same precision in a bari sax as she does in a piccolo. Jean has developed a well deserved reputation as a bassoon expert, and she gets bassoons in from all over the state.

Scott Mims, a St. Paul native and Central High School graduate, played sax in the University of Minnesota marching band before switching to Southeast Technical College. At Red Wing Scott studied woodwind & brass repair with Greg Beckwith and Ken Cance before joining the Cadenza repair shop in May 2004. Scott showed an early aptitude for instrument repair which his band teachers used to their advantage. Invariably, some instrument always fails just before a concert, and Scott's teachers soon learned that Scott was the kid with the knack for repair.

Laurel Chapman graduated in May of 2005 from Southeast Technical College (Red Wing) where she studied band instrument repair with Ken Cance and Greg Beckwith. Prior to attending Red Wing, Laurel received a Bachelor of Arts from Alma College in Alma, MI, majoring in studio art. Laurel has played the tuba throughout high school and college, where she was a section lead in the Kiltie Marching Band. She currently performs with The Seward Community Band, subs with The Brass Messengers, and plays a purple sousaphone in the Heart of the Beast May Day parade.

Strings
Joe Kellerman, a graduate of Minnesota Southeast Technical College (Red Wing), studied guitar construction and repair with Dave Vincent. To enhance his knowledge of stringed instruments and their inner workings, he went on to study violin repair and archtop lutherie with Lisbeth Nelson-Butler. Since he was very young, Joe has had an interest in woodworking and a love for playing guitar. He considers himself fortunate to have found a career that encompasses both.

Andy Denny graduated with honors in stringed instrument repair from Southeast Technical College (Red Wing) where he studied violin with Lisbeth Nelson-Butler. He has built banjos at Nechville Musical Products in Bloomington, Minnesota and does violin repair and restoration for David Bolland in Northfield, Minnesota. Andy builds banjos in his free time.

Cadenza Music Now Features Ultrasonic Instrument Cleaning!
Brass instruments get dirty. The constant passage of warm, wet air through an instrument means that regular cleaning is a must. Brass players frequently put off getting maintenance done on their instruments until the instrument stops working all together: tuning slides won't move, valves stick, and the lead pipes and tuning slides start to rust through due to corrosion ("red rot.") As you can imagine, except for dents and broken solder joints, most of the problems with brass instruments are cleaning issues, and the useful life of a brass instrument increases with regular maintenance.