The Western Illinois Museum in Macomb is starting a live music series called Music on Our Front Porch.
“We tried to think of performers who really excite us in hopes that it would excite other people,” said Claire Happel Ashe, program manager for the museum.
“We hope that people can gather and hear an informal concert and feel like it’s not something where they have to be stoic as they listen, but that it’s a gathering place. We hope that it gives a unique experience that many people will enjoy.”
The series on the museum's new indoor stage will showcase a variety of musical genres, such as jazz and chamber music.
And in June they will feature an installation piece.
“Where people can walk around and look at the artifacts at the museum as they hear this kind of soundscape,” Happel Ashe said.
That soundscape will be by composer James Romig of Western Illinois University, who was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Music. TSPR featured Romig in a 2022 story when he released “The Complexity of Distance,” his collaboration with guitarist Mike Scheidt of the doom metal band YOB.
Most of the performances in the Front Porch series will be on the first Friday of the month, although the November concert featuring saxophonist Joel Linscheid and the HAT Trio will be held on the second Friday, Nov. 8.
All the performances are free, with a suggested $5 donation at the door. The museum has talent lined up through September, 2025:
- Nov. 8, 2024 - Jazz Night – Tenor Saxophonist Joel Linscheid, 5:30-7:30 p.m. WIU student group, 8 p.m.
- Dec. 6, 2024 - Tuba Christmas and the WIU Percussion Ensemble, 6:30 p.m.
- Feb. 7, 2025 - Asian American Heritage Coalition: Hong-Da Chin, flute; Po-Chuan Chiang, piano, 5:30 p.m.
- March 7, 2025 - Jazz Night with Drummer Steve Davis, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (two sets). WIU student group, 8 p.m.
- April 4, 2025 - Jazz Night with Bassist Larry Gray, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (two sets)
- May 2, 2025 - WIU Faculty: Eric Ginsberg, clarinet, with the Camerata Nova quintet to premier three works commissioned for the group, by three Midwestern composers, Kate Pukinskis, John Mindeman, and Jim Caldwell, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
- June 6, 2025 - James Romig installation piece in the museum with Percussionist Tony Oliver, 5:30- 7 p.m. sound installation; 5:30-7:30 p.m. art installation
- Sept. 5, 2025 - The Parrish Trio, 5:30 p.m.
Jazz night performances are also planned for Oct. 3 and Nov. 7, 2025.
Tuba Christmas and the WIU Percussion Ensemble are also scheduled for Dec. 5, 2025.
Music on Our Front Porch is funded in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council and the Illinois Humanities Council.
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