Events

Mar 23

For over 600 years, stringed keyboard instruments have served as repositories for human imagination, science, technology, craft, artistry, and music. They are admired for their stature – and oftentimes stunning beauty – alongside their ability to play both melody and harmony. Keyboard innovation has continuously expanded throughout the world, throughout time.



Opening in March 2024, the special exhibition “High Strung: Five Centuries of Stringed Keyboard Instruments” will explore the form, function and development of keyboard instruments from early harpsichords to the modern piano. The special exhibition brings together nearly 20 keyboard instruments from the NMM’s collections - some of which have never before been on exhibit.



Instruments that will be on display include:


• An octave virginal (NMM 4660), from the same workshop as the NMM’s Neapolitan harpsichord, c.1530 (NMM 14408)

• A highly decorated harpsichord by Andreas Ruckers, 1643 (NMM 10000)

• Harpsichord by Nicolas Dufour, 1683 (NMM 5943, pictured below), made in Paris in a native style that fell from popularity by the first decade of the 18th century

• French grand piano, Clavecin à marteaux, (harpsichord with hammers) by Louis Bas (NMM 4653) from 1781. This instrument, the earliest surviving French grand piano, is exceptional, retaining much of its original action parts

• Downward-striking piano by Nanette Streicher und Sohn (NMM 10298), and a small trapezoid hammer instrument by Gottfried Maucher (NMM 4570) – an example of a lesser-known instrument type, similar to the tangentenflugel by Späth and Schmahl, built c.1784 (NMM 4145), which was once a favorite instrument type of Mozart

• Grand piano by Erard (NMM 5984) and Chickering & Sons (NMM 5413), built at a time in which America led the way in piano technology, not only with grand pianos, but also with the large ”square” pianos by makers such as William Knabe & Company (NMM 14447)



“High Strung: Five Centuries of Stringed Keyboard Instruments” will open to the public on March 23, 2024 in the NMM’s Jason & Betsy Groves Special Exhibition Gallery. It will remain open through the calendar year. Support for the exhibition is provided by generous grants from the Clayton and Odessa Lang Ofstad Foundation and the City of Vermillion, SD.

Fee: $Included with Museum Admission

Apr 01

Visit the SD Discovery Center in Pierre as they help celebrate Month of the Military Child. Military youth and families receive free admission throughout the month of April. Learn more at https://sd-discovery.org.

Apr 19

The Benedictine Peace Center and the Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery invite the public to a lecture by Sister Judith Sutera, OSB on Friday, April 19, 2024, at 7:00 P.M. The presentation titled The Liturgical Character of Benedictine Spirituality invites us to consider the central work of Benedictines; the daily cycle of liturgical prayer, or what St. Benedict calls “The Work of God.” In his rule, the many chapters regarding liturgy hold a pivotal place between the premise of the monastic life and the other daily practices. While many of these chapters may seem technical or irrelevant, they hold many wise teachings about the rhythm of prayer as the rhythm of life that apply to those outside the monastery walls. S. Judith is a member of the Benedictine monastery of Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas. She authored a gender-neutral translation of the Rule of Benedict with Commentary. Judith is a popular writer, speaker, and retreat leader, bringing Benedictine wisdom to oblates, academics, and other religious groups. The public is invited to the Sacred Heart Monastery Chapter Room on April 19 at 7:00 P.M. Thanks to funding by the Benedictine Service Fund, there is no cost to participants, however, you are asked to register by April 17 by emailing BenedictinePeaceCtr@YanktonBenedictines.org, or by calling 605-668-6292. More information can be found at www.YanktonBenedictines.org/lecture.

Apr 19

Sign up for our science-based preschool program for our youngest learners. Literature, free exploration, sensory experiences, directed experiments, art and conversation will be at the core of the program. The overall curriculum is being designed on a 3-year cycle so children who start as 3 year-olds will have a new experience each year.

The Spring semester begins January 5th, 2024 and runs until April 19th, 2024.
This class will meet Friday mornings from 8:00am - 12:00 pm at the South Dakota Discovery Center in our classroom.

Children must be 3 years old to attend. The classes are of mixed ages (3-5) which allows children to learn from one another.

The cost for the fall semester is $225 for members and $280 for non-members.

Apr 19

Twinflower is the wooden flute duo featuring Amy Shaw and Laura MacKenzie. Named for a wildflower that is native to both North America and Sweden, Twinflower performs traditional music from Scandinavia on two wooden flutes. The duo’s special focus is the vibrant flute tradition that existed in parts of Sweden during the 19th and early 20th centuries. When people think of folk music, the fiddle often comes to mind; however, the wooden flute was another popular instrument in the Nordic countries. In the southern provinces of Sweden, many flute players in rural places had rich repertoires of polskas, waltzes, and other dance tunes. Many of these beautiful old flute tunes have been preserved, and a new generation of flute players is literally breathing new life into them. Thanks to a fellowship from the American-Scandinavian Foundation, Amy and Laura were able to study with some of these tradition bearers in Sweden. Having returned home to St. Paul, Minnesota, they are excited to share this music with audiences in the Upper Midwest.

Amy Shaw first encountered the wooden flute as a graduate student at the University of South Dakota; early in her career as an archivist, she worked at the National Music Museum. Active as a performer and music scholar, Amy is the author of Ole Hendricks and His Tunebook: Folk Music and Community on the Frontier (University of Wisconsin Press, 2020). Laura MacKenzie was introduced to wooden flute-playing while preparing for a degree in ethnomusicology. The experience led her to leave academia for a career in traditional music, with an emphasis on wooden flutes. Laura is an Archibald Bush Foundation Fellow in Traditional and Ethnic Performing Arts.

This concert will be livestreamed at: https://www.nmmusd.org/nmm-live-video

Fee: $Free with Museum Admission

Apr 19

The market features 100+ small businesses selling unique products such as boutique clothes, jewelry, home decor, furniture, candles, gourmet foods, and lots more!! This is a place for shoppers who are serious about shopping & fun!

*Friday 4-7 pm
*Saturday 9-4 pm
W. H. Lyon Fairgrounds Expo Building, Sioux Falls
$5 admission (kids 12 & under free)

Fee: $5

Apr 19

Pierre Players Community Theatre presents LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE, a dramatic comedy play of monologues and ensemble pieces about women, clothes, and memory covering all the important subjects- mothers, prom dresses, mothers, buying bras, mothers, hating purses and why we only wear black by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron, based on the best-selling book by Ilene Beckerman. Presented by special arrangement by Dramatists Play Service.

Show dates are FRIDAY April 19th, SATURDAY April 20th and THURSDAY April 25th THROUGH SATURDAY April 27th at 7:30 p.m., with a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee on SUNDAY April 21st at the Grand Opera House in Pierre. For reservations call 605-224-7826 or visit pierreplayers.com for more details.

Pierre Players presents LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE sponsored in part by: Grey Goose Store & Social Club, Capital City Ford Lincoln Toyota, Allied Plumbing & Heating, First Dakota National Bank, Foster Rentals, Smart Software Solutions, and Pierre First United Methodist Church.

Fee: $25 at the door