About Us
“The Archive Room” - Ivy Hale, oil on canvas, 2025
The Greenleaf Collection of Musical Instruments (The Greenleaf Collection) is a unique archive housed at Interlochen Center for the Arts—an arts boarding school and camp in Interlochen, Michigan, United States.
The heart of the collection is the Conn Museum of Musical Instruments, a tribute to musical history and the achievements of a titan in the world of instrument manufacturing: C. G. Conn, Ltd. of Elkhart, Indiana. Carl D. Greenleaf was Conn’s president from 1915-1949, and his son, Leland B. Greenleaf, rose through the company ranks to become president in 1958. In 1969, Leland donated the museum to live in perpetuity at Interlochen Center for the Arts, a place long associated with his family.
The gift was one of many ways in which the Greenleafs enhanced Interlochen. Carl Greenleaf was a key figure in Interlochen’s history. He backed the earliest educational efforts of Interlochen’s founders, Joseph Maddy and T.P. Giddings, and organized the financing essential to their realization of a summer music camp that has become an institution of leadership in arts education. Leland Greenleaf was a lifelong friend to Interlochen, enriching it with his time, talents, and resources. Today, Leland Greenleaf’s daughters, along with the extended Greenleaf family, carry on this stewardship through their active guidance and support of the collection.
Read more about The Greenleaf Collection’s origin story here.
Contents
There are over 300 musical instruments in The Greenleaf Collection. The majority are brass and woodwind instruments from the late 1800s to the mid 1900s, from the Civil War to the reign of the great American bandmasters through the big band era to modern jazz and wind ensembles. Among them are bugles, clarinets, cornets, flutes, horns, oboes, saxophones, trombones, trumpets, and tubas. The collection also includes unusual specimens such as military serpents, early sousaphones and ophicleides, as well as experimental prototypes and special edition instruments of exceptional artistic craftsmanship. Other notable items include the C. G. Conn historic mouthpiece collection, ethnographic instruments from throughout the world, and aluminum string instruments developed and promoted by Interlochen founder Joseph Maddy.
Mission and Method
The Greenleaf Collection commemorates a generation-spanning tie between visionaries in America’s musical coming-of-age story: Carl and Leland Greenleaf of C. G. Conn, Ltd. and Joseph Maddy and T.P. Giddings of Interlochen, pioneers in expanding musical opportunity for the nation’s youth.
That mission of encouraging artistic growth continues into a new century.
The multitude of musical ideas in The Greenleaf Collection come from the imagination of musicians, designers, technicians, and artists. Visitors are amazed to realize that today’s instruments are only points on a continuum of creativity. The collection enhances that experience with a performance-oriented approach. Interlochen Arts Academy musicians select historic instruments for restoration, playing the revitalized instruments in recitals and evoking the authentic sounds of other eras. Custom curricula explore the intersection of these instruments with the arts, sciences, and history. Visiting experts share the wealth of their knowledge and passion. Research and special projects broaden interest and build a community dedicated to discovering the wonders of the past and the thrill of what comes next.
The Greenleaf Collection embodies the essence of Interlochen’s leadership in music education and inspires the artistic pioneers of tomorrow.
Acknowledgements
Carl Greenleaf's granddaughters: the third generation of the growing Greenleaf family supporting this musical treasury.
The Greenleaf Collection owes its vitality to the members of the Greenleaf family. Their enthusiasm, guidance, and financial support continue to make the collection more meaningful than ever.
The collection has lived at Interlochen for over 50 years, and for much of that time it was preserved and enhanced by one remarkable person: Curator Emeritus John Beery, whom we honor with admiration. Thanks, too, to the curators before him, Byron Hanson and Norman Schweikert, and the curator who followed him, Leo Gillis.
We are deeply grateful to the historical instrument specialists Matt Stohrer and Mark Metzler, who restore our instruments and endow the collection with valuable guidance and inspiration.
Thanks to Pete Willis, Manager of Instrument Services at Interlochen, for his help in maintaining our horns, and to luthier Bill Koucky for restoring our aluminum instruments.
Thanks also to our Summer Greenleaf Fellows Wendy Werstuik and Jake Goldwasser, Musical Instrument Museum curator Rich Walter, and the music faculty at Interlochen Arts Academy and Interlochen Arts Camp.
Special recognition to The Greenleaf Collection’s first-ever student curator, Gabe Proctor, and to the growing community of Interlochen Arts Academy students and summer staff active in The Greenleaf.
Special thanks to the individuals who have enriched this musical treasury by entrusting their instruments to us over the years and to all those who have offered financial and moral support.
The Greenleaf Collection was gifted in perpetuity to Interlochen Center for the Arts to share the historical, educational, and cultural significance of these instruments with the Interlochen community and beyond. We are grateful to be a part of Interlochen's magic, and to have a home where artistic ideas thrive. To learn more about Interlochen, visit www.interlochen.org.
Kathleen Kasdorf, Director of Planned Giving at Interlochen Center for the Arts, manages contributions to The Greenleaf Collection and is an amazing advocate for our work.
We are indebted as well to Interlochen Philanthropy and Engagement leadership for their support, notably John Bogley and Ian Jones.
Applause to Elizabeth Nelson, Director of Libraries at Interlochen Center for the Arts, for her wisdom, guidance, and enthusiasm.
This website would not be possible without the enterprise and expertise of archivist and webmaster Zoe Larson.
Eileen Ganter is the current curator of The Greenleaf Collection and is thankful for the opportunity to steward this treasury and explore ideas.
All photos on the website are copyrighted by Eileen Ganter, unless otherwise noted.
The top image on this page is the “The Archive Room.” This 3’ by 5’ oil on canvas is by Interlochen Arts Academy Visual Arts major Ivy Hale. Ivy was inspired by the spirit of The Greenleaf Collection and imagined Carl Greenleaf surveying the treasure that bears his family’s name.