Just when your mother was convinced drums produced nothing but noise, two NIU professors are out to change perceptions of percussion instruments.

Robert Chappell and Rich Holly, percussion professors, will present a free recital Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the Music Building.

The program will be a surprisingly eclectic mix of ragtime, Cuban dance, jazz and Japanese styles of music, Holly said.

Two of Chappell’s works, “Bay Suite” and “Bombay Jewel,” and the world premiere of a latin-jazz composition by Holly entitled “Frankly Speaking,” will be performed.

“Frankly Speaking” is the result of Holly’s recent trip to New York, where he studied with a Cuban percussionist. His piece mixes guaguanco, bembe and songo styles, all originating from Cuba.

Both Chappell and Holly will be doing marimba solos. A marimba is a Central American instrument which resembles a xylophone, but is much larger, measuring eight feet long, Holly said.

Holly said a performance of marimba music is much more visual than performances of other instruments.

“The player moves his hands and arms up and down, moving his body left and right. Rather than trying to find the quickest way to find a note, we’ve developed a pleasing dance-like way to perform,” Holly said.

Percussion music, which is gaining in popularity, utilizes its huge family of instruments. “We know of 5,000 percussion instruments in existence,” Holly said. Because of the sheer number of instruments, a program of the music can showcase many different music styles.

“If you go to a violin recital, you know you’re not going to hear anything else besides classical music.” This is not true of a percussion program, Holly said.