Two flutes of a Belgian player have been stolen. Just sharing this in case someone sees them offered for sale… Thx for sharing !
“Two 6-keyed wooden flutes were stolen from Micheal O’Briain’s home in Moorsel, Tervuren on the evening of 14 October 2019. They are a stained Boxwood flute made by Sam Murray (see photos showing also ivory head/end joints made from old billiard balls - the keys had been further strengthened by Geert Lejeune, who also had slightly shorted the bottom section of the flute) & a Cocus wood standard flute made by Geert Lejeune (http://www.geertlejeune.com/flutes - see photo). The loss of these unique and high quality hand-crafted instruments is devastating and Micheal would greatly appreciate, if any musician learns about someone attempting to sell them, to let him know as soon as possible. He can be contacted by email at mogobriain@gmail.com or by phone at 00 32 485059864.”
This bad news. I’ll keep an eye open here in Scandinavia, although I would imagine that the flutes could turn up for sale in France, England or Ireland. Lots of flute players in those countries. Hopefully the police may find the flutes soon. Are there pawn shops in Belgium?
The thought of anyone having their musical instrument stolen is horrible. I hope Michael gets his flutes back.
Chances are they’ll be offered for sale somewhere around the flute community. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open here.
Michael had some good news (facebook) The flutes are home again !
Micheal O’Briain
26 oktober om 21:13 ·
Dear Musical Friends, to my amazement the police have located my stolen flutes and returned them to me this evening! It appears that the burglars had thrown them away when escaping through a woodland not far from our home. They have been somewhat exposed to the elements and are not in perfect condition but do not appear to have suffered any major damage and I expect will be fine after a service. I’m really grateful to the police for this unexpected good news. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to everybody who sent messages of support and for spreading the word about the theft of the flutes. Its wonderful to be re-united with these instruments!
Very good news. Glad you got the flutes back.