Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments
Upcoming Events
Dancing with the Dragon Exhibit
November 4 through December 11, 2026
Open Monday – Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (Closed Nov. 26-27)
Room 547 – Weiser Hall / Central Campus
Experience a curated experience of the imaginary, featuring the LRCCS Fortune and Longevity Dragon, a 25-ft long, Asian-inspired full-body dragon sculpture for use in the traditional “dragon dance” crafted by renowned international artist Zhen Guo with U-M faculty arts lecturer Raymond Wetzel, artist Jeri Rosenberg, students, and volunteers. The exhibition highlights the story of the dragon’s fabrication and its impact on community.
Joseph Gascho, harpsichord
Britton Recital HallEarl V. Moore Building
Free - no tickets required
Harpsichordist and Stearns Collection director Joseph Gascho will be joined by special guest, Baroque violinist and SMTD alum Alyssa Campbell. The program of Italian music by Corelli, Vivaldi, and others, will feature a newly acquired Italian virginal, made by Taiwanese-American builder Lynette Tsiang, and a copy of one of the very first pianos, originally made by Cristofori in the early 1720s, copied recently by Thomas and Barbara Wolf.
Stearns Collection Lunchtime Concert Series
Cafeteria Auditorium, NCRC Building 18, 2800 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Free - no tickets required
October 6 marks the return of the monthly Lunchtime Concert Series presented by the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments. These free 45 minute programs feature instruments from the collection and music from around the globe. U-M staff, faculty, and members of the public are welcome to bring their lunch to the auditorium adjacent to the cafeteria in NCRC Building 18 at 12:00 pm.
Harpsichordist Arthur Haas performs the Goldberg Variations
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 306 N. Division St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Free - no tickets required
Renowned American harpsichordist Arthur Haas performs J.S. Bach’s legendary Goldberg Variations in a solo recital. Winner of the 1975 Paris International Harpsichord Competition, Haas has appeared as a soloist throughout Europe and the United States. Currently, he is a member of the Aulos Ensemble, Empire Viols, and Aula Harmoniæ.
Arthur Haas Harpsichord Master Class
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 306 N. Division St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Free - no tickets required
Yale University and Stony Brook University Professor of Harpsichord Arthur Haas presents a master class featuring SMTD undergraduate and graduate harpsichordists.
Orpheus Singers
Stamps AuditoriumWalgreen Drama Center
Free - no tickets required
“Mortal Flesh, Eternal Light” – The Orpheus Singers, joined by the University of Michigan Baroque Chamber Orchestra, present an evening exploring mortality, devotion, and transcendence through two compelling works of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Conducted by members of the graduate choral conducting studio, the program features excerpts from Dieterich Buxtehude’s deeply expressive Membra Jesu Nostri, BuxWV 75, alongside Joseph Martin Kraus’s dramatic Requiem in D minor.
Baroque Chamber Orchestra
Britton Recital HallEarl V. Moore Building
Free - no tickets required
“Italian Celebration featuring Vivaldi and friends” – The University of Michigan’s Baroque Chamber Orchestra studies and performs repertoire from the late Renaissance, Baroque, and the early Classical periods, using period instruments and replicas from the university’s growing Stearns Collection.
Matthew Bengtson and Joseph Gascho, early keyboards
McIntosh TheatreEarl V. Moore Building
Free - no tickets required
The William P. Malm Performance Series and the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments present an SMTD faculty recital by Matthew Bengtson and Joseph Gascho, featuring a pristine copy of one of the very first pianos: Bartolomeo Cristofori’s 1722 gravicembalo col piano, e forte. The program will include solo keyboard and collaborative repertoire by Scarlatti, Marcello, Vivaldi, and more. Preceding this performance, all are welcome to a pre-concert talk beginning at 7:00 pm in Watkins Lecture Hall, just across the hallway from McIntosh Theatre.
Barbara and Thomas Wolf, harpsichord makers
McIntosh TheatreEarl V. Moore Building
Free - no tickets required
Renowned instrument builders Thomas and Barbara Wolf present an historical and acoustical account of their study and recreation of Bartolomeo Cristofori’s 1722 piano. Hailed as the inventor of the piano, Cristofori was an unrivalled builder and designer and only three of his pianos have survived. This presentation is sponsored by the Virginia Martin Howard Lecture Series and the William P. Malm Performance Series.
Stearns Collection Lunchtime Concert Series
Cafeteria Auditorium, NCRC Building 18, 2800 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Free - no tickets required
The Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments presents the second installment of the 2026-2027 NCRC Lunchtime Concert Series. These free 45 minute programs highlight instruments from the collection and music from around the globe. This performance will feature Persian santour player Alireza Fazel, with Stearns Director Joseph Gascho and U-M Performing Arts Technology Associate Professor John Granzow and their students.
Baroque Chamber Orchestra
Britton Recital HallEarl V. Moore Building
Free - no tickets required
The University of Michigan’s Baroque Chamber Orchestra studies and performs repertoire from the late Renaissance, Baroque, and the early Classical periods, using period instruments and replicas from the university’s growing Stearns Collection.
