Ann Arborites whose musical tastes are more classical than folksy this weekend, you’re in luck, as the University of Michigan Museum of Art will play host to the Brandenburg Soloists, a group of 30 students who will present all six of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenberg Concertos, in their entirety.

The whole thing was conceived by Brandon Straub, 29, a master’s student studying the harpsichord at the U-M School of Music, Theatre and Dance. Every musician of the 30 who will play tonight is either a student or recent graduate, Straub said.

And "each piece is a completely different instrumentation," Straub said, which will add to the challenge.

As a National Public Radio piece on the history of the Brandenburg Concertos explained, in 1721, Bach, then a small-town music director, “presented the Margrave of Brandenburg with a bound manuscript containing six lively concertos for chamber orchestra ... The Margrave never thanked Bach for his work — or paid him.”

While it’s likely that Bach conducted the first performances of the concerti himself, NPR wrote, the pieces weren’t termed the Brandenburg Concertos until a century and a half later by Bach biographer Phillip Spitta.

The concert is being presented free of charge, courtesy of The SMTD at UMMA concert series, which features the works of students in the university’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. The Katherine Tuck Enrichment Fund provided additional support, according to the art museum’s website.

There is no central conductor for the works, Straub said. The 30 members, which will appear in different combinations in different pieces, will “have to share a pulse.”

Straub had a familiarity with the Brandenburg Concertos but he never sat down and thought about how to play them, how to make them work back to back to back to back to back to back, until he booked a March 13, 2011 gig with the South Bend Symphony last year.

The symphony will play Brandenburg Concerto no. 5 at the show. As Straub threw himself into his preparation for his contribution, he developed a deeper appreciation of the concertos as a whole. He got to thinking how it’d be cool to get some artists together and play all six concerti live. Some players have had to be replaced recently as they’ve gotten other gigs, but the show will go on.

The Brandenburg Soloists, as the confederation of solo artists is being called for the one-time-only show, started rehearsing in late November and seem to have hit their stride lately, Straub said. Straub is the only member of the Soloists who will appear in all six pieces.

Straub said that the concert is a test run for whether a professional early music ensemble is viable locally. Does Ann Arbor appreciate them enough that Straub, whose classmates and colleagues are all doing this for free, for the love of the work, could book money gigs and pay his collaborators?

“Could this work in Ann Arbor?” Straub wonders. “An ensemble of young, early music musicians?” The community's response to a free show will be telling.

From the concert venue to the practice venue — the music school — to Straub’s fellow artists, this one is a freebie, he understands, and there won’t be too many more.

Straub began assembling the Brandenburg Soloists last summer, once he got the South Bend gig. Because the pieces were so well known in classical music circles, the musicians he approached "leapt at the opportunity." He’s hoping Ann Arbor does the same.

"It'll be interesting to see how it turns out," Straub said.

The Brandenburg Concertos takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29 in The Apse of the University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 South State Street.

James David Dickson can be reached at JamesDickson@AnnArbor.com