Music has been said to soothe the savage beast and with most students suffering from panic attacks these final weeks of classes, NIU’s School of Music is offering a much-needed stress reliever Wednesday night.

The School of Music is holding a senior clarinet recital featuring Susan Burnett-Halling, and the NIU Percussion Ensemble’s Fall concert, that will parallel the style of the popular “Rosewood and Steel” concerts.

At 6:30 p.m. in the recital hall of NIU’s Music Building, the clarinet recital will be presented by NIU senior Susan Burnett-Halling.

Musical selections will include pieces by Debussy, Karg-Elert, Ravel, and Beethoven. Piano and cello accompaniment will be performed by Greg Otten and Bob Hauser, respectively.

At 8 p.m. in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall of NIU’s Music Building, The NIU Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Robert Chappell and Rich Holly, will again charm listeners with the much-loved keyboard percussional sounds NIU has been known to love.

Until three years ago, NIU held “Rosewood and Steel” concerts in the Spring centered around keyboard percussion instruments, such as the vibraphone, marimba and xylophone in performing contemporary works and ragtime. Also featured at these spring concerts was a marimba band and steel band.

The continuing development and popularity for each musical contribution caused the largely attended concerts to be divided, tomorrow night’s performance will be devoted to the keyboard percussion instruments.

Included in tomorrow’s agenda are three traditional Guatemalan marimba songs. The marimba, an organ-sounding rosewood instrument, was made popular in the 1920s with ragtime music, and is currently gaining respect as a solo instrument for many budding artists.

Two ragtime favorites, “The Whistler” and “Charleston Capers”, both by George Hamilton Green will also delight listeners tomorrow.

In addition, there will be a world premiere performance of graduate teaching assistant, Tom Deastlov’s jazz fusion piece titled “Deastlovian Dances.”

Adding a little more spice to the program will be Deastlov’s own arrangement of Frank Zappa’s “The Black Page.”

Other contemporary rock pieces to be performed are “Antithesis” by David Voorhar and “Diabolic Variations” by Raymond Helble.

Both programs are free to the public and all are encouraged to come.