Lansing resident Aaron Wade, 14, normally plays jazz on his saxophone.
But when an MSU student musical group opened its show Tuesday in Lansing with a piece by classical composer Pierre Max Dubois, he was fine with it.
MSU reaches out through music
Quartet plays first of two concerts for community center in Lansing
Music education junior Michael Spiegel, left, lets Zackary Fleming, 13, of Lansing, feel how heavy his baritone saxophone is during the MSU College of Music concert by student band the Viridian Saxophone Quartet on Tuesday afternoon at the Cristo Rey Community Center, 1717 N. High St., in Lansing.
“It’s a pretty neat thing,” Wade said. “I’ve never really heard a whole lot of classical saxophone, so it’s kind of interesting.”
The MSU College of Music kicked off its partnership with Cristo Rey Community Center, 1717 North High St., in Lansing, by holding a concert with the quartet.
Cristo Rey provides various social services for low-income residents in the Lansing area, including employment training, childcare and counseling services.
During the hour-long show, the members of the Viridian Saxophone Quartet played various jazz and classical songs and talked to the audience about their individual instruments and how they decided to study music at MSU.
Rhonda Buckley, associate dean for outreach and engagement for the MSU College of Music, said the idea for the partnership and concerts came from a desire to get MSU faculty and students involved at the center.
“We (started) this partnership by sending some of our students to Cristo Rey to perform, which gives our students a great opportunity to perform for a diverse audience,” Buckley said.
“It gives Cristo Rey participants a chance to hear Michigan State performers in their facilities.”
The relationship between the two groups began in October when Buckley met with John Castillo Roy, director of the center.
Roy said one of the key factors in the success of the partnership was a desire to expand the musical horizons of the community.
“I thought it was a great opportunity because while we have a lot of partnerships, we have never had a partnership with the (MSU College of Music),” Roy said.
“Because of the exposure of the music to the kids, maybe some of them will want to take up music, and the exposure of music to the community brings the music from MSU into the neighborhoods.”
Paul Bogan, a musical performance sophomore and member of the quartet, appreciated the response the quartet received from the audience.
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“I had fun playing for the kids and they seemed to respond well and appreciate it,” Bogan said.
“They were a very good audience, so it’s really enjoyable playing for them.”
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