At Wind Instrument ProShop, we believe great instruments and accessories come from great craftsmanship, innovation, and relationships. This past week, our director(Joshua Adam) traveled to British Colombia and Washington State to visit with some of the most respected names in the woodwind industry—from world-renowned repair specialists to leading manufacturers and suppliers.

Here’s a look behind the scenes at the journey.

• Day 1 April 27: Backun Music, Laskey Tour & Massullo Music

The trip began with a visit to Backun Musical Services, a globally respected name in the clarinet world. They are known for exceptional craftsmanship, innovation, and professional-level instruments and accessories.

One of the highlights of the trip was a section of one-on-one time with Morrie Backun, (one of the world’s top clarinet repair and design experts.) Discussions focused on instrument design, setup philosophy, repair precision, business structure and business direction.

The day also included a tour of the Laskey Mouthpiece factory. Seeing the precision the mouthpieces are made with, and the thought process of training the staff. Josh was amazed at their care, intent and precision.

That same day Josh later visited Massullo Music. It was interesting hearing about the choices that Sandro Massulo made about developing the business.

•  Day 2 April 28: Long & McQuade Distribution Centre + Kimberley Jurens Call

Day two focused on rental instrument repair and maintenance with a visit to the Long & McQuade distribution centre. Seeing the setup of L&M's repair center gave us inspiration and clarity about how we want to differ from L&M. The shop was well organized, but it was lifeless.

The day also included a short call with Kimberley Jurens discussing flutes, and what to focus on to become better at repairing flutes.

• Day 3 April 29: Theo Wanne Factory Visit

The final day featured a visit to the Theo Wanne Factory, (the world’s most innovative professional saxophone mouthpieces.) The business  structured itself around the goal of giving Theo Wanne Creative freedom to experiment and innovate.

The factory tour showed their manufacturing( we can't talk much about it.) From machining and finishing, every step showed their desire to expiremiment,  innovate and keep everything consistant.

• Why This Matters

Trips like these are about more than seeing products—they’re about building relationships, learning directly from people with more experience and bringing that knowledge back to the musicians we serve.

Whether it’s repair work, mouthpiece recommendations, or helping players find the right setup, meeting the people and companies behind what we sell allows us to provide better guidance and support to our community here in Calgary and across Canada.

Glimpses behind the scenes will be here in our "Inside the Pro Shop" series.