Museum hopes MSU music series reaches out to public

More than a dozen MSU students will be showcasing their musical talent this weekend. But rather than perform at an auditorium on campus, they’ll be heading to Lansing to an unlikely venue: the Michigan Historical Museum.

The first concert in the five-part “Music at the Museum” series will be at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Michigan Historical Museum, 702 W. Kalamazoo St., in Lansing. It is free and open to the public. The “Music at the Museum” series is the result of a new collaboration between the museum and the MSU College of Music.

“We’re just forming a partnership with the Michigan Historical Museum, trying to bring music to more people that might not otherwise have the opportunity to attend a college of music concert,” said Amanda Darche, communications coordinator for the College of Music.

The other four concerts will take place on the first Sunday of December, February, March and April, and will feature different student performance groups.

“(The discussion) would be really good for those who have less experience going to concerts or less experience in a formal concert hall — this is a little more casual,” Darche said.

Martha Bloomington, community relations liaison for the museum, said the partnership with MSU came about through the university’s Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement, which suggested the College of Music would be the perfect group to help the museum reach out to people.

“We’ve been wanting to have music over here for a long time and we thought it would be a great opportunity if students came to play here,” she said. “It’s one more way to have people come to the museum for different kinds of activities and hopefully they’ll wander around our wonderful exhibits.”

Music performance junior Esther Seo will play the flute with her quintet for the concert.

They will perform a movement from “Bläserquintette in vier Sätzen Op. 91,” a German chamber piece that depicts the fall season.

“I actually don’t know what to expect because I have never performed at a museum,” she said.