French music gets pride of place at MIM this weekend

The three-day event runs Friday through Sunday at MIM’s South El Río and adjacent galleries

PUBLISHED 6 HOURS AGO

Each morning, local accordionist Tony Putrino will pop up along El Río for two 15-minute sets.

PHOENIX: The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) will welcome visitors to a showcase of French music this weekend, featuring live performances, hands-on crafts, and educational talks.

Supported by the Alliance Française of Greater Phoenix and the Phoenix Sister Cities Grenoble Committee—with additional funding from the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture and the Arizona Commission on the Arts—the three-day event runs Friday through Sunday at MIM’s South El Río and adjacent galleries.

Highlights include an all-day violin craft station (9 a.m.–4 p.m., South El Río) where guests can design and decorate their own miniature violin canvas; and a hands-free photo booth (9 a.m.–4 p.m., El Río) offering instant digital prints to share on social media with #MIMphx.

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Each morning, local accordionist Tony Putrino will pop up along El Río for two 15-minute sets (9:15 & 10:15 a.m.), performing beloved French melodies. At 10:30 a.m. each day in Event Room 2, Matthew Zeller—MIM’s Europe curator—will delve into the life and legacy of Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, the 19th-century “violin businessman” whose innovations reshaped modern violin making.

Musical performances continue at 11:30 a.m. with a classical string quartet from the Phoenix Symphony in North El Río, followed by a French arias medley by Arizona Opera at 12:30 p.m. Central El Río. At 1:30 p.m., the Bartholomew Faire ensemble will transport audiences to Renaissance France with period “street music,” and at 2:30 p.m. Helene Bergeon leads a French sing-along workshop in Event Room 2.

The afternoon culminates in two distinct performances: ZAZU West’s Jazz Manouche tribute to 1930s Paris (3:15–4 p.m., North El Río) and a Robjohn pipe-organ demonstration by Valerie Harris (4:15–4:30 p.m., Orientation Gallery), featuring traditional French hymns.