Inaugural meeting draws historic turnout

APRIL 1, 2026, GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Sigal Music Museum is thrilled to announce the triumphant inaugural meeting of the Sigal Music Museum Bassoon Club, held Tuesday evening in what museum staff are calling “the most emotionally significant event in this building since the theremin tuning incident of 2019.”

The club, which formed after a single hand-lettered flyer was posted near the oboe display, convened its founding session to a standing ovation, though organizers acknowledge that all attendees were standing because there were only two chairs.

“We expected perhaps one person,” said club founder and self-described “bassoon-curious enthusiast” Harold Rackett, 71, who drove 45 minutes from Spartanburg and brought a casserole. “The turnout exceeded all projections. This is a movement.”

A moment of frivolity occurred when it was discovered that all attendees except one had all dressed the same for the occasion.

The evening’s agenda included a spirited 40-minute debate over whether the bassoon is “underrated” or merely “misunderstood,” a unanimous vote to adopt the official club motto (“Saltem non est Tuba”), and the election of officers.

Patricia Shawm, 58, was elected President, Secretary, and — after a coin toss — Treasurer. Retired accountant Robert Dulcian, 64, serves as Vice President and self-appointed Snack Coordinator, a role he described as “frankly the most important one.” Dulcian holds the title of Founding Member Emeritus, which he invented himself and which the other members agreed sounded impressive.

No one present professionally plays the bassoon. Museum officials confirm this is not a requirement.

“We are an appreciation club,” Shawm clarified in a follow-up email written at 11:47 p.m. the same night. “The distinction is important and we feel very strongly about it.”

The club’s next meeting is tentatively scheduled for the sixth Tuesday of May, pending confirmation of a venue, a quorum, and whether Dulcian can source a bassoon-shaped cheese board he saw on Etsy. A waiting list for new members has been opened, and as of press time contains one name: Rackett’s neighbor, who does not know he was signed up.

The Sigal Music Museum extends its deepest congratulations to the Bassoon Club and looks forward to a long and resonant future together — or at the very least, a second meeting.

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About Sigal Music Museum
Sigal Music Museum in Greenville, South Carolina, celebrates the history and artistry of musical instruments through its permanent collection, rotating exhibitions, and community programming. It featured a number of well-loved and greatly appreciated bassoons in the museum’s previous exhibition, A Favorable Wind.

CONTACT: Eugenia Reedsworthy, Director of Membership & Reed-Adjacent Programming
ruserious@sigalmusicmuseum.org