Weird Science
You could say Amy Caron has diverse interests. The Utah-based performance artist’s background includes serious stints as a modern dance choreographer, stuntwoman and video artist, plus separate competitive careers in figure skating, gymnastics and freestyle skiing. For Waves of Mu, her current installation project premiering at the Firehouse this month, the Vermont native collaborated with leading neuroscience researchers to depict how particular electromagnetic oscillations (pronounced “myew”) affect human interactions. Experience the pink-and-red “brain room” sculpture any time during gallery hours, or turn up for one of 10 75-minute shows through March 23 to see Caron play the role of the thalamus gland and explore other, er, heady mysteries.

‘Waves of Mu’, Saturday and Sunday, March 8 & 9, Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $7-10. Reservations and info, 865-7165. www.burlingtoncityarts.org www.amycaron.com/html_pages/waves_of_mu.html

Concert Master
Soovin Kim now calls the world his stage, but the virtuoso violinist grew up in Plattsburgh. The Vermont Youth Orchestra’s most famous alumnus played with that ensemble from ages 10 to 14, then went on to study with Vermont Symphony Orchestra maestro Jamie Laredo before winning some of classical music’s most prestigious awards. Kim (pictured) returns to Vermont for two concerts under Laredo’s direction, playing a 1709 Stradivarius in Jean Sibelius’ Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor. Also on the program? Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 — a musical tribute to the Rhine — and VSO composer-in-residence David Ludwig’s Radiance, featuring oboe soloist Nancy Dimock.

Soovin Kim and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Saturday, March 8, Flynn MainStage, Burlington, pre-concert reception 6:30 p.m., concert 8 p.m. $9-57. Info, 863-5966. Sunday, March 9, Paramount Theatre, Rutland, pre-concert talk 3 p.m., concert 4 p.m. $8-29. Info, 775-0903. www.vso.org

Rural Redux
Farming is central to Vermont’s economy, history and image, and you can’t get much more grassroots than the folks mucking out dairy stalls and taking cows to pasture. Contrary to popular iconography, many of those dungaree wearers aren’t dudes. As part of an ongoing exhibit titled “We Are Vermont: Contemporary Portraits in Photography,” the Vermont Farm Women’s Fund highlights a selection of ag-lady images from Peter Miller’s 2002 book Vermont Farm Women, accompanied by live first-person accounts from three sets of female farmers. Post-reception, state representative and Vermont House Agricultural Committee Chair David Zuckerman moderates a panel discussion on how the state’s farms use diversified approaches to face the future. Expect input from local land workers hailing from Keewaydin, Applecheek and Kaiser Farms.

Vermont Farm Evening, Thursday, March 6, Helen Day Art Center, Stowe, reception 5:30-6:30 p.m., panel 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, 253-8358. www.helenday.com

Latitudes Of Attitude
Travelers who head toward Montréal from Burlington will cross the famous 45th parallel, equidistant from the North Pole and the equator. Ten degrees south, another navigator’s notation inspires the Central Vermont-based world-music ensemble 35th Parallel. There’s nothing obscure about the name — that line of latitude happens to traverse India, the Middle East and the Mediterranean, the area where 35th Parallel finds its inspiration. Multi-instrumentalists Gabe Halberg and Mac Ritchey offer melodies on tabla, jar, jaw harp, oud, didjeridoo and bouzouki, among other acoustic accoutrements. The band’s core Halberg-Ritchey duo goes into ensemble mode this weekend, accompanied by fellow jazz-fusion musicians Todd Roach on Middle Eastern percussion, Zach Tonnissen on soprano and tenor saxophones, and Brian Boyes on trumpet.

35th Parallel, Sunday, March 9, Dibden Center for the Arts, Johnson State College, 7 p.m. $5. Info, 635-1476. www.35thparallel.com