FARMINGTON – Noontime concerts will begin on Wednesday, March 1, in Nordica Auditorium, Merrill Hall, University of Maine at Farmington. The free concerts will run from 12:30 to 1 p.m.

The first concert will feature the brass quintet “laid-back brass,” with performers Danielle Methot, trumpet; Cynthia Harkleroad, French horn; Ray Phillips, trumpet; Ron Small, tuba; and Brian Strothmann, trombone. The program will include pieces by French and American composers, including Maine’s marching band composer R.B. Hall, Gershwin, Faure, Debussy and a humorous arrangement of a well-known French folk tune.

The concert on March 8, will feature local folk singer Pete Hardy and his wife, Zhou Meng. The Syncopations will perform on March 15, and March 22 will feature Don Emery, vocals and bass, and Steve Levine on guitar, playing some of their favorite Mississippi Delta Blues. The series will also include the Franklin County Fiddlers, the Mt. Blue Voices and the Off and On Sisters” an a capella quartet.

The public is invited and children are welcome. Donations are appreciated and help the Arts Institute give the musicians a small honorarium for their performances. For more information, go to http://ArtsInstitute.org or call 645-2157.