Vote for HMT! Plus fall workshops, rental specials & event announcements

[House of Musical Traditions]

Greetings from House of Musical Traditions!

A few updates to share with you:

Reminder about our current operations:

We are open from 11-7 Tuesday through Saturday and 11-5 Sunday & Monday, no appointments required. Masks are required for everyone inside our store, per current Montgomery County mandate. Masks are also required for all School of Musical Traditions students and teachers doing in-person lessons at our Takoma Park and Rockville studios. Virtual lessons are also available, and SMT is currently enrolling students for the fall semester. Visit schoolofmusicaltraditions.com for more info on private and group lesson offerings. 

Voting is now open in the Washington DC City Paper Best of DC! We have won "Best Place To Buy Instruments" for the last 5 years and would love to continue the streak. It's easy to vote: Go to this link, scroll to Best Place To Buy Instruments (under the "Goods" category) and click the Vote button next to House of Musical Traditions. You may be asked to enter your email address if it's the first time you're voting. Thanks for your support! Voting is open through 9/19/21.

Recreational Taiko Class with Mark H Rooney begins September 19th (Dance Exchange in Takoma Park)

If you have previously attended one of Mark's Introductory Taiko Workshops, you may register for this 8-week class to continue your taiko practice and skills. Register online with SMT here. 

Announcements will be coming soon for Beginning & Intermediate Bodhran classes with Scott Morrison, starting September 18th! Registration info will be on SMT's website soon. Stay tuned for more fall workshop announcements!

Our fall special for school band & orchestra rental instruments is back in effect! Instruments rent for as low as $15 for the first 2 months, with low monthly rates thereafter. Return any time, or rent to own. You can do your rental online and either pick up at our store or have it shipped to your home - get started here. We also have cleaning supplies, accessories and music books in stock. 

After a year hiatus, we are excited to be back at the Maryland Renaissance Festival this season! The festival in Crownsville, MD begins August 28th and runs weekends through October 24. Please note that ticket sales are only being done online this year, not at the gate. The festival is following all local Covid-19 guidelines. Individual booths are setting their own mask policies. If you wish to enter our booth beyond the front counter to try out instruments, masks will be required (our selection of wind instruments will be limited and prepackaged only). 

New open mic!

Our sister non-profit Institute of Musical Traditions has partnered with the Sandy Spring Museum in Olney, MD to sponsor a new weekly in-person outdoor open mic! It will be on Tuesday evenings from 7-9:30pm, beginning September 7th. Sandy Spring Museum has a lovely outdoor courtyard space, and performers of all ages, abilities & genres will be welcomed. Hosted by rob Hinkal and Rowan Corbett of ilyAIMY (formerly both of HMT as well!). Please read the event description here for more detailed information; pre-registration will be required. You can also follow the Rob's Open Mics page for updates.

It continues to be an interesting time for the musical instrument industry. The pandemic created a significant uptick in demand for instruments of all kinds. Coupled with continued issues in manufacturing, logistics and shipping, availability on many items has been scarce recently. However, we have been expanding our supplier networks and stocking new product lines to continue offering a wide selection of instruments, even when our "usuals" might be backordered for awhile. We have also increased our used instrument buying, and have an ever-changing stock of great deals on used instruments and accessories like effects pedals. Many suppliers have also had to increase prices recently, to accommodate rising costs in shipping and manufacturing. In some cases, we have "new old stock" on hand that came in before the price increases and can offer deals. Let us know what you're on the hunt for and we'll be glad to help! We appreciate your support, especially over the last year and a half of challenges - and are looking forward to celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2022!

In Health & Harmony,

David Eisner & the HMT Staff

House of Musical Traditions

7010 Westmoreland Ave, Takoma Park MD 20912

(301) 270-9090, http://hmtrad.com

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