Nearly a year ago, the Baroque Room opened in Lowertown St. Paul, a new performance hall dedicated to providing an affordable, well-appointed concert and rehearsal space for the abundance of artists playing Baroque and Renaissance-era music in the Twin Cities. The venue is run by Marc Levine and Tami Morse, who are musicians themselves performing as the duo Flying Forms.

From January through June 2012, the Baroque Room is hosting a terrific new program, Market Music: a series of 24 lunchtime concerts, open rehearsals, “listening club” discussions and jam sessions — all scheduled around the winter and summer St. Paul Farmer’s Market. It’s an ingenious idea, given the venue’s proximity to the popular market, to take advantage of the weekly foot traffic to lure shoppers and passersby with such an attractive, informal point of entry for this rich local music scene.

All of the Market Music events are free and informal affairs; the programming rotation offers a thoughtful mix of performance and discussion, aimed at cultivating and educating a broader audience for early music, as well as facilitating a vibrant, well-connected community of musicians working in the form. The series’ open rehearsals offer a congenial window into the music-making process; monthly jam sessions afford meaningful opportunities for emerging artists to play on period instruments with seasoned professionals; and listeners can take in live performances by an assortment of the cities’ early music ensembles (e.g. Flying Forms, Lyra Baroque, Ladyslipper, Glorious Revolution Baroque, Bach Society of Minnesota) and participate in illuminating conversations with artists, educators and experts in the field.

This weekend marks the beginning of series: on Saturday, you can grab lunch after making the rounds at the farmer’s market, and head to the nearby Baroque Room at noon for an hour of open rehearsal by the Bach Society of Minnesota, where you can listen in as the ensemble puts the finishing touches on a fusion concert planned for Jan. 14, “Bach and Jazz” performed with jazz guitarist Christopher Olson.

Find the full schedule of Market Music weekly events, along with details on other upcoming concerts, on the Baroque Room website: http://www.thebaroqueroom.com/. The Baroque Room is at 275 E. Fourth Street, Suite 280, St. Paul, Minn. For more information on the series, call 651-705-6772, or visit http://thebaroqueroom.yolasite.com/market-music.php.