Violins, cellists and flute players combined their talents in the second performance of the Fourth NIU New Music Festival Tuesday.

Students and family were invited to hear from NIU’s own music majors along with guest musicians Matt Ulery and Geoffrey Bradfield. Ulery, Bradfield and others performed music written by Ulery along with a never-before-heard composition.

Before Ulery and Bradfield got on stage, two students performed a jazzy piece called “We Bop” by Gerard Brophy. Afterward another piece was performed. It was called “GLAES,” and was a Brazilian piece written by Alexandre Lunsqui.

Sophomore pre-physical therapy major Cassidy Glenn attended the performance to do a report on her teacher, who performed, and loved the sound.

“I think the [GLAES] performance is really different, like all the different instruments and the way he was plucking the piano from the inside,” Glenn said. “I’ve never seen that done before so it was all just new to me.”

After intermission, Ulery took the stage with his ensemble and the NIU New Music Ensemble. Elizabeth Sanchez, freshman speech language pathology major, liked the pieces they played.

“I liked ‘Gone As It Always Was.’ It was my favorite because it … had more melody than the others, I thought, and it all just flowed together and it was really nice,” Sanchez said.

Melody also drew in Kayla Steger, freshman cello performance major, to the piece “Wilder Years.”

“I thought the performance overall was really cool because it had a lot of stuff I don’t usually hear,” Steger said. “It was a nice change and refreshing.”

Tuesday’s event was the second concert in a three-part series. Students can catch the last one this Thursday.

“I just think all the concerts here are really good and you’ll never be disappointed if you come to one of these,” Glenn said. “I’ve been to a few and I’ve enjoyed every single one of them.”