The Sound Garden Project
The Sound Garden Project’s mission is to plant classical music in unexpected places as we reimagine a 21st-century performance experience. In these ensembles ambitious hands, a concert becomes an event, and an audience becomes a community of inspiration, understanding and hope.
The Sound Garden Project is presented by Interlochen Public Radio. Support is provided by Golden Fowler of Traverse City, TC Tourism, and the Michigan Arts and Culture Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
FIVEMIND REEDS: Fivemind’s interests lie in bridging the gap between classical and contemporary music, and promoting diversity and equity in the arts through community engagement, expansion of the reed quintet’s repertoire, and revitalization of the age-old traditions of chamber music.
KODAK QUARTET: This dynamic, award-winning string quartet is setting the world on fire with their passionate and energetic playing. They are highly regarded for their work with contemporary composers on new compositions and for presenting traditional works with a contemporary flavor.
CERUS QUARTET: Founded in 2020, the Cerus Quartet focuses on showcasing the dynamic, versatile sound worlds of the saxophone quartet, programming everything from contemporary compositions to transcriptions of traditional repertoire.
All concerts are free and open to the public — no tickets required unless otherwise noted.
Our 2025 concert schedule is currently under construction. Check back soon for more event and venue details!
- June 10-20: Kodak Quartet at Manitou Music Festival in Glen Arbor, MI
- June 26, 7 p.m.: Cerus Quartet at Oliver Art Center in Frankfort, MI
- July 14-20: Fiveminds Reeds in Cheboygan, MI
This project is funded in part by Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Michigan Arts and Culture Council
Special thanks to our generous sponsors Golden-Fowler Home Furnishings and Traverse City Tourism.
Sound, samples are interactive exchanges that allow listeners to sample world class music in bite-size performances around northern Michigan. Due to the dynamic nature of Sound Garden's sound samples, times may sometimes shift somewhat from the times listed.
Where we were this summer...
CHEBOYGAN: (Offered in partnership with the Cheboygan Area Arts Council)
Saturday, July 27:
9:00 a.m. Sunrise Sounds at the Cheboygan Farmers Market
12:00 p.m. Art Splash fair (between Libby's Downtown & Linde's Furniture)
8:45 p.m. Sunset Sounds at the Cheboygan State Park beach
Sunday, July 28:
9:00 a.m. Sunrise Sounds at the Step Inn Restaurant
10:00 a.m. Art Splash fair
1:00 p.m. Art Splash fair
8:45 p.m. Sunset Sounds at Dairy Queen
Monday, July 29:
9:00 a.m. Sunrise Sounds at State St Coffee
1:00 p.m. Author event with Lori Cleland at the Children's Trail
6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Open rehearsal at the Cheboygan Public Library (Neuss Room)
8:45 p.m. Sunset Sounds at the Kingston Theater
Tuesday, July 30:
9:00 a.m. Sunrise Sounds at the Cheboygan Coffee Roasters
10:00 a.m. Story time for kids of all ages at the Cheboygan Public Library
2:00 p.m. Sound Samples at the Post Office
2:30 p.m. Sound Samples at Family Fare
3:00 p.m. Sound Samples at the Carnegie Library
3:30 p.m. Sound Samples at Hive North
8:45 p.m. Sunset Sounds at Crib Light / City Beach
Wednesday, July 31:
9:00 a.m. Sunrise Sounds at Big Boy Restaurant
2:00 p.m. Sound Samples at the Cheboygan History Center
2:30 p.m. Sound Samples at Gordon Turner Park
3:00 p.m. Sound Samples at Habitat for Humanity Restore
3:30 p.m. Sound Samples at Cheboygan Brewing Company
These events are funded in part by Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.
SUTTONS BAY:
Monday, July 22:
3:15 p.m. Suttons Bay Library and Beach
4:00 p.m Moomers Ice Cream
INTERLOCHEN:
Monday, July 15:
3:00 p.m. Interlochen Golf Course, Bradley's Restaurant
4:00 p.m. Oakey's
Tuesday, July 16:
10:15 a.m. Interlochen Public Library
11:00 a.m. Bud's
FRANKFORT:
Monday, July 8:
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. Downtown Frankfort
Thursday, July 11:
7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Downtown Frankfort
CHARLEVOIX (Offered in partnership with the Charlevoix DDA)
Wednesday, July 3
1:30 p.m. Circle of Art
2:00 p.m. Beaver Island Boat Co., J. Bird Provisions
2:30 p.m. Bridge raising; in front of VUE Wine Bar
3:00 p.m. Splash Pad (East Park)
5:30 -7:00 p.m. Mini Concerts: pop-up concerts in Charlevoix neighborhoods
8:45 p.m. Sunset at Light House
9:30 p.m. Hotel Earl rooftop
Wednesday, July 4
8:30 a.m. Weathervane restaurant
10:00 a.m Cafe Meria
10:30 a.m The Clothing Company
11:00 a.m The Taffy Barrel
11:30 a.m Kilwin’s
12:00-12:30 p.m. Farmer’s Market
TRAVERSE CITY (Offered in partnership with TC Tourism)
Thursday, June 20
3:00 p.m. Ace Hardware
3:30 p.m. Slabtown Burgers
4:00 p.m. Loco Boys
Friday, June 21
2:30 p.m. TC Tourism
3:00 p.m. The Little Fleet
3:30 p.m. Milk & Honey
4:00 p.m. Horizon Books
Monday, June 24
1:00 p.m. American Spoon
1:30 p.m. 2nd Level Boardshop
2:00 p.m. Fustini's
2:30 p.m. Rocket Fizz
Tuesday, June 25
7:00 p.m. H & L Social at Hotel Indigo
GLEN ARBOR (Offered in partnership with the Glen Arbor Arts Center)
Tuesday, June 16
2:00 p.m. Cottage Book Shop
2:30 p.m. Post Office
3:00 p.m. Anderson's IGA
Monday, June 19
5:00 p.m. The Grocer's Daughter Chocolate
5:30 p.m. Cherry Republic
Friday, June 23
2:00 p.m. Inn and Trail Gourmet
2:30 p.m. Synchronicity Gallery
3:00 p.m. Cotton Seed Apparel
3:30 p.m. Glen Arbor Wines
PULSE: An award-winning saxophone quartet delivering a diverse range of repertoire, seeking to break down barriers between themselves and their audience. (2023, 2024)
Fivemind Reeds: A dynamic, 21st-century reed quintet based in LA and committed to promoting diversity and equity in the arts through community engagement. (2023, 2024)
Blue Quartet: A saxophone quartet seeking to distill music of the highest quality into the everyday lives of people - and to inspire those inclined to do the same. (2023)
(Photo: Susan Tusa — IG: @__sutu__)
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Matthew SchlomerThis week, Mei Stone goes to places where people are faced with choices, like a skate shop and a brewery, and asks them to turn those opinions onto classic music. -
Michigan's Cerus Quartet wins honorable mention at the 2025 Plowman Chamber Music Competition. -
The Kodak Quartet from New York is part of IPR’s Sound Garden Project, which plants music in unexpected places. -
Edgar Donati, Martin Noh, Daniel Spink and Blake Kitayama of the Kodak Quartet are in residence as part of IPR's Sound Garden Project. -
Darren Liou, Matthew Rasmussen, Alex Lee, Thacher Schreiber and Kristine Llanderal of Fivemind Reeds are in residence in Glen Arbor, part of IPR's Sound Garden Project. -
Saxophonists Samuel Hartt, Lauren Troutman, Jonah Kulick and Joshua Elwood have been planting music in unexpected places with IPR's Sound Garden Project. -
Thacher Schreiber, Darren Liou, Alex Lee, Matthew Rasmussen and Jacob Freiman are planting music in unexpected places this summer through IPR's Sound Garden Project. -
Saxophonists Zachary Costello, Luke Haight, Owen Robinson and Michael Ethier won first prize in the prestigious NOLA Chamber Fest's Performing Artists division. -
As PULSE, Zachary Costello, Luke Haight, Owen Robinson and Michael Ethier deliver a wide-ranging repertoire that engages and inspires with a fresh approach to classical music. -
The Glen Arbor Arts Center welcomes its first-ever musicians-in-residence for a month of interactive performances in playgrounds, parking lots and parks in Glen Arbor.
This project is supported by the MICHIGAN ARTS AND CULTURE COUNCIL and the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS.