In March 2024, the MSU campus experienced the transformative power of music during Small Island Big Song’s performance and residency at Wharton Center for Performing Arts.

The project brought together Asian and Pacific Islander performers, uniting communities through song and a shared sense of responsibility to protect our water and our planet. The weeklong residency included engagement with over 100 Michigan K–12 students in schools, 50 MSU students in their classrooms, and over 100 community members both at the Nokomis Cultural Heritage Center and at Wharton Center.

The program was a shining example of the ways in which Wharton Center brings together campus and community partners to create experiences with artists from all over the world. As Wharton Center’s Executive Director Eric Olmscheid said, the connective experience that happens on MSU’s campus between artists and community is impactful for both audiences and the performers.

Wharton Center partnered with the Residential College of Arts and Humanities, College of Music, Asian Studies, Native American Institute, and Student Life and Engagement at MSU; LATTICE (Linking All Types of Teachers to International Cross-Cultural Education); Nokomis Cultural Heritage Center; and Pattengill Biotechnical and Murphy Elementary schools.

As part of this community collaboration with Wharton Center, John Ostrander, director of the Nokomis Cultural Heritage Center, hosted the musicians and artists from Small Island Big Song at the Nokomis Center for a traditional Anishinaabe dinner. Additionally, Ostrander and Nokomis partnered with NAI director Kevin Leonard, Ph.D., to host two hand-drum-building workshops for community members. Community members then were able to take their hand drums to campus, where they were hosted at the Wharton Center to play with the musicians and artists from Small Island Big Song.