Inside-Out and Outside-In
When it comes to music performance, MUSE Sturgeon Bay will pursue two goals:
- Promote music from the inside-out: Door County is very lucky to have an exceptional number of incredibly skilled local musicians that perform in a wide variety of styles and ensembles. MUSE will collaborate with local musicians from across the peninsula to support and promote their careers while offering them a top-notch venue for performances. Moreover, MUSE will provide opportunities for local, hobbyist and beginner performers to rent the space for a minimal fee—as well as ticket and host their own performance—providing the opportunity for these artists to build a fan base.
- Bring music from the outside-in: MUSE will also bring international, national and regional touring artists to Door County. Bringing diverse musical and cultural experiences to our community enriches our cultural landscape by providing exposure to different genres and styles and by exposing our local musicians to new ideas and new perspectives. Additionally, touring acts will partner with our local musicians, bringing both the residents of Door County and tourists alike some of the best live music the area has to offer, while also providing our local artists with additional performance opportunities.
Concert Series
There are five concert series that will occur on a rotational basis at MUSE throughout the year. The first four are:
- Bandstand Series: Concerts that involve standard rock band instrumentation. This includes rock, country, bluegrass bands, and any other type of ensemble that includes drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals, or any combination thereof.
- Blue Nite Series: This series will feature traditional and contemporary jazz and blues. Ensembles will range from fairly large (20+ musicians) to small and intimate (3-5 musicians).
- Classical Series: Concerts of classical chamber music—i.e.: string quartets, trios, solo recital, pierrot ensemble, etc. Local ensembles will include Midsummer’s Music and the Griffon String Quartet.
- World Music Series: This series will focus on music from outside of the United States and Western Europe. Examples of musical traditions that would be included are: Indian, Latin American, Asian, Middle Eastern and African Music.
The four series above will feed into a fifth series:
- Patchwork • New Music Series: Curated concerts that combine elements of the other series—rock, country, folk, classical, jazz, world, etc.—as well as different artistic disciplines like visual, kinetic and dramatic arts. Patchwork concerts will combine these elements in order to highlight a conceptual, central theme in a unique, and multi-perspectival fashion.
Collaboration
We are passionate about the transformative power of interdisciplinary artistic collaboration.
In addition to programming regular concert series from a variety of musicians and styles, we envision a place where the boundaries between different artistic disciplines blur, giving rise to innovative and unforgettable experiences.
This dynamic journey will focus on developing creative ventures such as a silent film festival that fuses cinema and live musical performances, creating an immersive, multi-sensory experience that transcends traditional boundaries. Perhaps, it takes the form of collaboration with local dance studios to explore the synergy between music and movement. Or maybe a partnership between musician and painter, in which the artist paints simultaneously with a live music performance.
The possibilities are endless, from joint performances and workshops to boundary-pushing experimental projects that challenge our perception of the arts. In short, we believe that by fostering these collaborations, we can offer our community a vibrant and culturally rich space where the arts intertwine and flourish.