The EIU Concert Band will perform classic and contemporary music during its concert today including a piece where they will use paper as an instrument.

Barry Houser, the acting director of bands, said the piece is called “Paper Cut” and the band will cut and fold paper to an electronic rhythm.

“You get the electronic track playing computerized sounds. So then you will have paper, instruments, and computerized sounds,” Houser said. “The concert band hasn’t done anything like this before. We think it will just be a blast.”

The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Dvorak Concert Hall of the Doudna Fine Arts Center.

Houser said that Alex Shapiro, an American composer, wrote “Paper Cut” in the summer 2010.

Matt Murphy, a freshman music education major, said working on “Paper Cut” has been fun but challenging. He said since the band will be playing with an electronic track, they will have to play to the track’s tempo and not set their own.

“A lot of what we will play are standard pieces but this will be the exact opposite since we will play with paper,” Murphy said.

Houser said the concert will feature music primarily from English and American composers.

Houser said Eastern’s band will also perform along side the band from Mayo Middle School in Paris, Ill.

“This is a great recruitment tool to be an ambassador for the university,” Houser said. “It will instill the Eastern way at a very early age whether they study music or anything. I feel our campus has a lot to offer.”

Murphy said the middle school students have been working hard and he is excited to see what they can do.

Chris Mroczek, a graduate conducting student, said that the program will be a good experience for the middle school students to see what Eastern’s music room is like on a day-to-day basis.

Mroczek said the goal of the concert is to build up a variety of traditional and contemporary band literature for the students.

Mroczek will be conducting a piece called “Second Suite in F” by Gustav Holst, an English composer.

Houser and Mroczek said this will be the 100th year anniversary of “Second Suite in F” as it was composed in 1911.

The band will also perform “Rush” by Samuel Hazo, “Second Prelude” by George Gershwin and “Hosts of Freedom” by Karl King. All are American composers.

Seth Schroeder can be reached at 581-2812 or

[email protected].