The 80-member ensemble of the All-University Concert Band will perform its admission-free fall concert tonight under the direction of Frank Bibb.

The concert will begin at 8:00 p.m. in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall located in the Music Building.

The All-University Concert Band is made up of members from all over the university community, Ensemble Director Kirk Lundbeck said. It is a non-competitive band made up of musicians who enjoy the opportunity to play their instruments, he said.

Lundbeck said, “The band functions as an outlet for students who are talented musicians and don’t want to give up playing music, but aren’t necessarily interested in becoming professional musicians.”

Bibb said, “We welcome all students, I don’t care if your major is physics, psychology or English. If you enjoy playing your instrument, there’s a place for you in the band.”

e said members are required to audition for the All-University Band but for chair placement only, not membership.

Bibb said often students think they are not talented enough to audition for NIU’s various competitive bands and, he said, 90 percent of the time they are wrong.

Many of the members of the All-University Band also are involved in the Wind Ensemble, the Marching Band and other musical groups on campus. Bibb said this is possible because the time commitment is not heavy. He said the All-University Band rehearses only once a week for two hours.

Bibb said only about 40 percent of the members of the band are music majors.

The performance tonight will open with the John Phillip Sousa march “The Gallant Seventh.” Other pieces during the performance will include “God of Our Fathers,” by American composer Claude T. Smith, along with several familiar folk melodies. The concert will conclude with a few exciting, up-tempo pieces such as “Festive Overture” by Dimitri Shostakovich.

This is the first of two annual performances by the All-University Concert Band, Lundbeck said. The next concert will be performed in the spring, he said.

Lundbeck said “This concert will surely be a program for any fan of concert literature.”