BUCKTOWN — After a Bucktown burglar made off with two trumpets and a rare 1960s-era French flugelhorn earlier this month, musician Ryan Berndt has been calling pawn shops and scouring Craiglist in hopes of being reunited with his instruments.
"I tell my students, I kiss my mouthpiece more than I kiss my wife. You can find replacements but that's not the same. I don't think people understand how personally connected you become to instruments," said Berndt, 35, a trumpet instructor and member of Gaudete Brass, a Chicago-based quintet.
Made in Paris, Berndt's flugelhorn, a brass instrument that resembles a trumpet but has a wider, conical bore, was a gift that he's used since 2001.
That horn, along with two newer trumpets made by Melrose Park-based manufacturer Schilke, was taken in a smash and grab theft while Berndt was in a 6:30 a.m. class at Corepower Yoga, 1704 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Bucktown/Wicker Park on Feb. 2.
Berndt, who lives in East Garfield Park, had planned to attend 9 a.m. rehearsal in Evanston after the class.
All three instruments were in leather case that "looks like fancy luggage," and the case alone is worth about $1,000, said Berndt, who lives in East Garfield Park. An iPad inside the case was also stolen, but it has not connected to WiFi since the theft, which would allow Berndt to track its location.
Surveillance footage from the Garfield Beverage, a liquor store next to the yoga shop, captured a man looking into the car with a big flashlight, then using it to smash the rear passenger window. The theft took place sometime after 6:15 a.m. and was discovered at 7:35 a.m. when Berndt returned to his car.
Early Sunday, Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police spokesman, confirmed the theft but did not have any details to share about the thief or the surveillance video.
Berndy said a new flugelhorn costs around $4,285 and he estimates the value of his used vintage horn to be about $2,800, though he considers it irreplaceable. "It's really special," he said.
Between rehearsals and his own practices, Berndt said he played his instruments about 28 hours each week, not including 100 concerts each year.
Berndt said his wife, a lawyer who was a violinist when the couple met, has been "super helpful."
"Sine she was a violinist, she knows the importance of this to my career. This has just been a major setback," he said.
Last week, Berndt and the other members of the Gaudete Brass Quintet recorded classical pieces to be considered for the University of Michigan's M prize, an annual contest.
"It was difficult. It was like another part of me was gone and not to have that is frustrating," he said of the recordings, which took several takes as he acclimated to the loaner horns provided by Schilke.
"They [Schilke] have been great and gave me loaners as insurance figures itself out," Berndt said.
In the past few weeks, Berndt said he dropped off or emailed fliers to 158 Chicago pawn shops.
Enacted in 2012, a law requires pawn shops to digitally register all serial numbers for electronics or other equipment. So far, the serial numbers have not turned up.
Berndt's Facebook post about the lost horns has gotten almost 600 shares and he said on Saturday that he's hoping the closely connected music community will help to find the instruments.
Anyone with tips of information about the trumpets can call Chicago Police Dept. Detective Louis Vittori at 312-7440-8273 or send an email.
Stolen Trumpet Information by Alisa H
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