46 past events with the stringed tag

Explore the vastness of space and beyond in the music of the spheres with this season’s theme “To Infinity and Beyond”. The Symphony and the Community will journey together on a musical adventure, so bring your space-themed picnic baskets and lawn-chairs, and enter our free picnic contest for great prizes from local businesses. And, don’t forget to vote for your favorite Super Conductor!

PlySpace and the Muncie Arts and Culture Council invite you to an artist lecture by PlySpace Spring 2020 Fellows, Valerie Skakun and P. Spadine, on Tuesday, February 18th, from 5-6 PM in AJ225.

Skakun and Spadine have been working as collaborative partners since 2017. The philosophy of Skakun’s recent body of work began the moment she was struck by a car while on her bike and left unable to walk for a year. She has explored sculptures as objects of ritual and labor, ranging from time-based devotions to endurance trainings in order to transform mental and physical states of being. She received an MFA from Hunter College in 2019, and a BFA from The Cooper Union in 2009. Spadine has worked under Ashcan Orchestra, a pen name and performance ensemble as a vehicle for his audio/visual experiments since 2007. Informed by a sense of wonder, his work has sought to emulate, celebrate, and demystify the laws that govern the physical universe. Together they work in the realm in which the physicality of sculpture and sound overlap. Skakun and Spadine seek to explore the dual nature of labor and play, as a way to engage the world of wonder within the viewer through a physical catalyst.

While in residence at PlySpace, Skakun & Spadine will be researching stronger materials and building prototypes of new working components for their series of modular sound sculptures, which refer to an “organ” as both body part and musical instrument and require physical use of the entire body to play. They will be working with Assistant Professor Rachel Cohn and her 4d students at Ball State University to design and build pump organs which generate sound through bodily motions. The collaboration will culminate in a public performance featuring the ensemble of sound sculptures on April 2nd, first Thursday, at Madjax.

PlySpace is a program of Muncie Arts and Culture Council in partnership with the City of Muncie, Ball State School of Art and Sustainable Muncie Corporation. PlySpace is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper LIVE at the 2023 Muncie Three Trails Music Series!

Please join us on Friday, August 25th at 7:00pm, at Canan Commons in Downtown Muncie, Indiana for our Summer of FREE CONCERTS with Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper and special guest opener The Punkin Holler Boys!

"My desire to present the amazing artistry of Michael Cleveland to residents of Muncie and East Central Indiana was one of my main motivations in starting the Muncie Three Trails Music Series."

- Rick Zeigler, Founder, Muncie Three Trails Music Series

The tension between tradition and innovation is at the core of bluegrass music, and the fiddle playing of Michael Cleveland exemplifies this musical tug of war. As a boy, Cleveland heard a local fiddler play “Orange Blossom Special,” which sparked a lifelong obsession with the tune that mimics the sound of a train. Cleveland’s improvisational versions push the piece’s descriptive tones and percussive bowing to a new level. With an encyclopedic memory for melodies, and an uncanny intuition for improvisation, Cleveland’s music is both rooted in tradition and fueled by his melodic imagination.

From an early age, Cleveland heard old-time and bluegrass music at local jams and festivals near his hometown of Henryville, Indiana. His grandparents hosted regular bluegrass gatherings at the American Legion, and at age four, he began playing the fiddle. He attended the Kentucky School for the Blind in Louisville, where he learned the Suzuki method of violin. While he practiced the violin at school, he played fiddle at home. Traveling with his grandparents to area bluegrass festivals, he heard many legendary players perform at Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Festival in Bean Blossom, Indiana. At the age of nine, Cleveland got to play with Monroe—a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship in the inaugural class of 1982—at the festival. When Cleveland was 12, he met music historian Dave Samuelson, who recognized the young musician’s interest and talent. Samuelson curated several Braille-labeled tapes for the young musician, which served as Cleveland’s essential listening guide to bluegrass music. Cleveland’s repertoire and musicianship grew, and in 1993 he played the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards show with the Bluegrass Youth All-Stars.

Cleveland began playing professionally after he graduated from high school, first with Jeff White and later with Dale Ann Bradley and Rhonda Vincent. Since he was young, however, Cleveland had dreamed of leading his own band. In 2006, he formed Flamekeeper, now seven-time recipients of the IBMA’s “Instrumental Group of the Year” award. Flamekeeper includes Josh Richards, Nathan Livers, Jasiah Shrode, and Chris Douglas. In addition to touring with his band, Cleveland has performed with a legendary list of bluegrass greats. Nevertheless, he remains rooted in his local Southern Indiana community, where he continues to play with friends when he is not on tour.

Widely considered the best bluegrass fiddler of his generation, Cleveland has been recognized 12 times as the IBMA’s “Fiddler of the Year,” and in 2018 he was inducted into the National Fiddler’s Hall of Fame. His recording Fiddler’s Dream was nominated in 2018 for a Grammy for “Best Bluegrass Album,” and in 2019, his album Tall Fiddler won that award. In 2019, Cleveland’s amazing life of adversity and achievement was featured in the documentary film Flamekeeper: The Michael Cleveland Story. And in 2022, he, like his idol Bill Monroe, was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship.

Visit Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper here:

www.michaelclevelandfiddle.com

Presented by Ball State University, THANK YOU to our Sponsors!

The primary mission of the Muncie Three Trails Music Series is to bring critically acclaimed, national recording artists to perform at Canan Commons, Muncie’s newest outdoor performance venue, located in the heart of Downtown. All concerts are free to the public. Our second mission is to promote the many recreational, artistic, and cultural attractions located along, or in close proximity to, Canan Commons and Muncie’s popular “Three Trails” -- The White River Greenway, The Cardinal Greenway, and The Muncie Arts and Culture Trail. We hope that the combination of outstanding concerts and Muncie’s attractions will provide both local citizens and visitors from throughout the region and state with a full day of fun and music.

Explore The Trails, Enjoy The Music!

Please visit our website to learn much more about our 2023 Muncie Three Trails Music Series:

https://www.munciethreetrails.com

Participants will build a two-string guitar using a cigar box and a round wooden dowel. They will install an electric guitar pickup, and they will learn the basics of tuning and playing the instrument using a guitar slide.

Event Details:

DATE: Saturday, October 28

TIME: 1:00–4:00pm

LOCATION: Madjax Maker Force, 515 E. Main St. Muncie, IN 47305

COST: $20 PER PERSON DUE AT REGISTRATION

This workshop is recommended for adults. Youth aged 16 or older may register independently. Youth younger than 13 or older may register if accompanied by a registered adult. Participants are expected to have a basic knowledge of using hand tools. This workshop is led by Maker in Residence Michael Pounds, a retired music composition professor and former mechanical engineer.

All of our workshops and classes are led by professional makers, artists, entrepreneurs, educators and community partners. We strive to provide high-quality and unique learning experiences. Registration will close up to 72 hours prior to the start of the event to provide time for instructors to prepare.

​
*Note: Registrations and email reminders will be processed through SimpleTix. For multi-session workshops, only the first class meeting will appear on your ticket.

Special thanks to our grant funders and donors who make our workshops financially accessible. Scholarships are available for individuals and families with a demonstrated need. Email kyra@madjax.org for more info.

Our second FREE Concert of the 2024 Muncie Three Trails Music Series brings Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers to our Canan Commons stage in Downtown Muncie! We will welcome openers My Brother’s Keeper as well! Our concerts are FREE, held outdoors, and lawn chairs are welcome! Come early and come hungry for the local food/drink vendors!

The music of Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers is best described as authentic bluegrass, marked by consistently clean harmonies, Joe’s driving Scruggs-style banjo playing (he won SPGMA’s Banjo Player of the Year in 2023), and entertaining showmanship. Mullins has recorded over 22 albums and had eleven #1 songs, and has received over a dozen International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music Association (SPGMA) awards, including the 2019 award for IBMA Entertainer of the Year (with the Radio Ramblers), the highest award a band can earn within the genre.

Our 2024 Season is sponsored by Ball State University, thank you!

🎶 Explore The Trails, Enjoy The Music! 🎶

Learn more about the band here:

www.radioramblers.com

Learn more about the Muncie Three Trails Music Series here:

https://www.munciethreetrails.com

Gracing our Canan Commons stage in Downtown Muncie for our final show of our 2024 Season, we are excited to host Sybarite5! Don't miss returning MTTMS favorites Ball State University Jazz Ensembles opening up the show! Our Muncie Three Trails Music Series concerts are FREE, held outdoors, and lawn chairs are welcome! Come early and come hungry for the local food/drink vendors!

Comprised of Sami Merdinian and Sarah Whitney, violins; Angela Pickett, viola; Laura Metcalf, cello; and Louis Levitt, bass. Sybarite5 has taken audiences by storm all across the US, forever changing the perception of chamber music performance. Dubbed the “Millennial Kronos,” Sybarite5’s eclectic repertoire includes music with roots in classical, rock, jazz, hip-hop, Armenian folk, and the avant-garde. From Bowie to Radiohead, Coltrane to Piazzolla, Pete Seeger to the Punch Brothers, and Akiho to Komitas, their selections, when combined with their commanding performance style, are turning heads throughout the music world.

Our 2024 Season is sponsored by Ball State University, thank you!

🎶 Explore The Trails, Enjoy The Music! 🎶

Learn more about the band here:

www.sybarite5.org

And learn more about the Muncie Three Trails Music Series here:

https://www.munciethreetrails.com

With a flair for the wild and unexpected, the genre-defying trio, TAKE3, brings the refinement of a rigorous classical music background and infuses it with rock-star charisma. With training at the World’s top conservatories, TAKE3, created by violinist/vocalist Lindsay Deutsch (Yanni’s featured violin soloist), alongside cello and piano, are creating some of the most exciting and refreshing pop/rock/classical fusion music anywhere in the World.

Whether they are rockin’ the Bach or are classically infusing the favorites of The Beatles, Bieber or Coldplay, TAKE3 are nothing short of exhilarating and have electrified audiences at venues and events including Music in the Mountains, Redlands Bowl, OK Mozart Festival, Festival Mozaic, Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Grill, and Bear Valley Music Festival.

Missy Raines is a trailblazer in bluegrass music. On her newest release Highlander, the bassist/vocalist/songwriter returns to her bluegrass roots with a musical homage to the peaks and valleys of her native West Virginia. Working again with producer Alison Brown, she delivers a set of 10 songs featuring her touring band Allegheny and including guest appearances from Laurie Lewis, Dudley Connell, Danny Paisley, Kathy MaKea, Michael Cleveland, Rob Ickes, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Darol Anger, Shad Cobb and Alison Brown.

Raines explains: “Making this record and having this band has been sort of a homecoming. I’m at a point in my life where I’ve been able to look back at what I’ve gone through, what I’ve done, and the path I ultimately wanted to take.”

That path has taken Raines on a long and adventurous musical journey which has been informed by the Southern Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic bluegrass of her youth. As a child and young teen, Raines soaked up the sounds of The Country Gentlemen, The Seldom Scene, The Johnson Mountain Boys, and the other neo-progressive groups that propelled bluegrass music forward in the 70s.

About

The Wind Ensemble is under the direction of Thomas Caneva, director of bands. Thomas Caneva has held the position of Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Ball State University since 2006. At Ball State, Dr. Caneva’s responsibilities include conducting the Wind Ensemble, coordinating the graduate wind conducting program, teaching undergraduate conducting and administering the entire band program. He served as the Coordinator of Ensembles and Conducting from 2007-2024. This concert will be a celebration of his career as he plans to retire at the end of the semester.

The Wind Ensemble will be accompanied by Mihoko Watanabe (flute), Elisha Willinger (clarinet), Anna Vayman (violin), Peter Opie (cello), and guest artists. 

Learn more about the Ball State University Bands.

Program

Program to include pieces by Paul Dooley, Steven Bryant, Gala Flagello, Percy Aldridge Grainger, and Gustav Holst. Several faculty members and colleagues will also make remarks during the concert.

Tickets

Tickets available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office located at Sursa Hall starting August 1. 

Prices

• General Public: $8 in advance / $10 at the door
• Seniors: $5 in advance / $7 at the door
• BSU Faculty/Staff: $5 in advance / $7 at the door
• Students: free* in advance / $5 at the door
  *One (1) free student ticket per ID is available in advance (before 5 p.m. on the night of the concert) at the College of Fine Arts Box Office

Purchase Options

• ONLINE
• Phone: 765-285-8749
• In person: Monday through Friday from Noon to 5 p.m., or starting 1 hour before the performance

**Please note: As part of our commitment to sustainability, all College of Fine Arts tickets are paperless and are accessible via email confirmation. Your confirmation email contains your digital tickets which can be scanned at the door from your mobile device, or you can print your digital tickets at home to be scanned. There is no need to visit Will Call prior to the performance. 

Parking

Parking is available in the McKinley Parking Garage (entrance on Ashland Avenue) located immediately south of Sursa Hall. Metered parking ($1/hr) is available on the first floor of the garage until 7 p.m. at which time parking is free.

Livestream

This concert will be offered as a livestream - visit the Concert Livestream Page to watch live. Streaming begins approximately 15 minutes prior to scheduled concert start time.