Members of the Western Brass Quintet are, from left, Stephen Jones, trumpet; Lin Foulk, horn; Daniel Mattson, trombone; Scott Thornburg, trumpet ; and Deanna Swoboda, tuba. They perform here Friday, Feb. 12, as part of the South Dakota In-Service Music Conference.

Some 200 music educators and 1,000 students will be on the South Dakota State University campus next week for the annual South Dakota In-Service Music Conference.

While the music teachers pay to learn from master musicians and to give their students an opportunity to perform for judges, two evening concerts associated with the Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 11-13 , conference are free to the general public.

The 90-minute concerts take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Larson Concert Hall in the Performing Arts Center.

The Thursday concert features vocal performances from the Southwest Minnesota State University Choir, the SDSU Concert Choir and the SDSU Choral Day Festival of Mixed Voices, a group comprised of 120 high school stu- dents and directed by Kevin Fenton, professor of choral conducting and ensembles at Florida State University.

Fenton's credentials include conducting ensemble performances at nine national and regional choral directors conventions . Top brass group to perform

Friday's spotlight falls on instrumentalists. The SDSU Symphonic Band and the Western Brass Quintet of Western Michigan University will perform separately and collectively under the direction of SDSU's Director of Bands Eric Peterson and professor Jim Barnes of the University of Kansas.

The Western Brass Quintet is comprised of five faculty members from Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Founded in 1966, the ensemble is considered one of the top brass chamber groups in the United States. It has toured in Thailand, China and Germany as well as performed in top American venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.

The quintet will perform SDSU Symphonic Band on "Five Concord Diversions."

"They're a very exciting addition to our program," said Peterson, in his second year at SDSU. "It's a great privilege for us to our host them and a great experience for our students to perform with" the group, whose repertoire consists of Renaissance and Baroque music. KU director to conduct

The Western Brass also will give a 9:45 a.m. recital followed by master's classes in each s area of expertise. Guest director Barnes also will share his musicianship during the day.

Barnes, the director of music theory and composition at the University of Kansas, has become an institution in his 35 years there.

Barnes has been commissioned to compose works for all five of the major American military bands in Washington, D.C. A recent compact disc released by the United States Air Force Band features two different works by Barnes: "Dreamers," written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of powered flight by the Wright brothers, and "Wild Blue Yonder," commissioned to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the United States Air Force.

"It's very thrilling to have my teacher come back and work with our students," Peterson said. "I wanted our students to be able to experience him and work with him. It's going to be a great concert. He's a great musician, teacher and friend."

Peterson, a 1994 Kansas graduate, is one of four KU grads on the music faculty. The others are David Reynolds, department head and trumpet instructor; Nate Jorgensen, woodwinds instructor; and Michael Walsh, clarinet instructor .

For more information, call the SDSU Music Department at 605-688-5187 or e-mail Paul.Reynolds@sdstate.edu.