The NIU Community School of the Arts showed its talent when its students performed a concert at the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall Wednesday night.

The hour-long performance consisted of young string, wind and brass players showcasing their talent and passion for performing music.

Music selections for the concert consisted of a compilation of songs from “The Dark Knight,” “When You Were Young” by The Killers and a few other concerto and symphony pieces.

Many of the pieces had a dark, heavy sound but that didn’t dull the performance by any means. The brass and bass were highlighted by their deep sound. The performers met every cue given by the director as every note was on time.

“When You Were Young” was played only by the string players and sounded very close to the original song.

It was intriguing to see such a popular song performed by strings alone.

CSA Sinfonia Concerto competition winner, Katie Shulz, joined the group as a soloist in the middle of the concert. Her talent shined through the dark, eerie piece as she elegantly played the cello, never missing a note.

Shulz is a junior at Keith High School in Rockford and has played the cello for 11 years.

She has had the opportunity to study with many well-known cellists from different music academies and has also taken master classes with Paul Katz of the New England Conservatory of Music, according to the show’s program.