The NIU Philharmonic and Concerto Competition winners will hold the first concert of the semester at 8 p.m. tonight in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall of the Music Building. The concert is free and open to all.

The first half of the concert, directed by NIU Philharmonic director Tim Semanik, will include an overture, two staples of the concerto repertoire and a new piece written by an NIU graduate, Semanik said. The program will begin with Mendelssohn’s “Hebrides Overture”, conducted by graduate student and conductor, Felix Torres, followed by violinist Jonathan Richards performing “Tzigane,” by Maurice Ravel, which Semanik said is “an incredibly demanding showpiece for violin.”

Soprano Amanda Brex will then perform a “Cancion para llorar y amar,” by Gary Schwartz, an alumnus of the music department at NIU, Semanik said. The first half will then end with a popular concerto piece – Rachmaninoff’s “Second Piano Concerto,” performed by pianist Seung-Wha Baek.

“This is an opportunity for people to hear the individual accomplishments of some of the musicians at NIU,” Semanik said.

Brex, a senior choral/vocal music education major, said the event will feature the best students of the School of Music.

“People should attend the event to support music in the NIU and DeKalb community,” she said.

After intermission the orchestra and percussionist Ben Runkel will present James MacMillan’s “Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra.”

“This work is an incredibly difficult piece for both soloist and orchestra, taking full advantage of an array of percussion instruments for the soloist and taxing both soloist and orchestra technically and musically,” Semanik said.

For more information, call the NIU School of Music at 815-753-1551, or go to www.niu.edu/music.