Band Instrument Repair Program - Instructors

• John Huth

When John Huth picked up the trumpet at age 10, it seemed destined that he'd still be playing and performing throughout his life.  It led to learning music instrument repair in high school as an apprentice that gradually turned into a way to pay for graduate school at the Cincinnati Conservatory (trumpet performance), then a job teaching here at Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical in Red Wing, MN. 

Education doesn't stop at the college's walls.  Musicians and technicians around the globe experience what happens here at Red Wing:  John has written numerous articles on repair for NAPBIRT's (the National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians) TechniCom journal, articles on maintenance and emergency repair in the Instrumentalist magazine, the Kjos Journal, and the International Trumpet Guild Journal.  He has produced numerous videos on brass repair, tool making, and metal lathe operation.  NAPBIRT has named John a Master Clinician.   Clinics, given at the National Repair Convention, have been recognized over the years by three awards for clinic excellence.  The best part of these awards is that the clinics are no different than the teaching done at Red Wing.  Most recently John presented, with his BIR colleagues, to music teachers and performers at the MidWest Band and Orchestra Clinic and the International Horn Society Symposium. 

When not teaching, John shares a rich life with his wife Carolyn and daughter Lili.  He enjoys creating new tools in his basement shop and is always working on restoring his 1920's home. 

In his own words:
"There is no greater professional reward than teaching. I believe in training repair technicians who understand their role as a key player in the success of all musicians, beginners through professional. I am demanding on my students because excellence translates into pride, and pride translates into profits. With that said I am extremely grateful year-in and year-out for students who challenge me to continually improve and excel as technician, teacher and person. Over the 17 years of teaching, the learning goes both ways: It's always the students who raise the bar, not the teachers."