A series of Tuesday Noon Concerts at Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art kicks off today, featuring a percussion concert by School of Music instructors Ricardo and Christine Souza.
For the fifth year in a row, these concerts will take place during the lunch hour at the art museum, offering a musical break during the workday for students, faculty and the public.
In 2005, the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art Association purchased a Steinway Grand Piano for the museum, and the director of the museum, Eric Lee, thought it would be nice to use it throughout the week for concerts or recitals. Lee and several others went to Steve Curtis, who was the interim director of the OU School of Music at the time.
“I was very supportive of the idea,” Curtis said.
The goal of combining the concert experience and the museum is to form a relationship between music and art lovers.
“If we have both music and art in the same place, we can provide conversation between the followers of both … say you go to the museum to hear music but you have some down time, you will be enticed to look at some art while you’re there,” said Mary Jane Rutherford, museum managerial associate and coordinator of the concerts.
Another hope behind these mini-performances is that people will be more attracted to attending a recital at the school of music.
“Through these concerts, we are hoping to increase attendance at the museum and at the OU school of music recitals,” Rutherford said.
The concerts this semester are performed by multiple professors in the OU School of Music, and instruments ranging from the cello to the harp will be featured in the series.
The museum offers free admission Tuesdays, so concert attendees won’t incur a museum admission fee.
“They are only 30 minutes, so you can come watch and still have 30 minutes or so to eat lunch after,” Rutherford said. “Another benefit is that almost anyone can sit through a music recital for 30 minutes.”
The people performing at the concert also enjoy the down time from work and classes.
“I usually teach class at that time on Tuesdays, but this will definitely give me a nice break from my day,” said music instructor Christine Souza, who will perform at her first Tuesday Noon Concert today.
IF YOU GO
What: Percussion, professors Ricardo and Christine Souza
When: noon today
Where: Sandy Bell Gallery
Price: Free
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