Baker University’s Percussion Ensemble has a lot to celebrate, like its fifth anniversary.

That’s why Celebrate Percussion is such an appropriate name for the percussion ensemble’s concert.

"(The name Celebrate Percussion) just seemed like it had a celebratory nature to it," Steve Riley, adjunct instructor of percussion and composition, said.<br/>Celebrate Percussion will take place 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Rice Auditorium.Celebrate Percussion will take place 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Rice Auditorium.
Celebrate Percussion will take place 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Rice Auditorium.

While only three Baker students are in the percussion ensemble itself, several guests are coming to perform with them. Steve Barnhart, professor of percussion at the University of Wyoming, and Kurt Gartner, professor of percussion at Kansas State University, are the two guest artists playing with the percussion ensemble.

“This was a great opportunity for us to come together to perform,” Riley said.

In addition to these two guest artists, eight alumni from past percussion ensembles are going to perform.

“It’ll be awesome,” junior Brittany Hines said. “I think it will be a really good experience.”

All three students will be playing a wide variety of instruments, from the marimba and vibraphone, to the timpani and snare drum, to buckets and cowbells. The pieces being performed will also provide a variety of music.

Sophomore Scott Ireland said the piece he is most looking forward to performing is an arrangement of the first movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.”

“The timbre is much different from the piano, but I think we do the piece justice,” Ireland said.

Like Ireland, Hines is looking forward to playing “Moonlight Sonata,” but is overall just excited to perform the pieces the ensemble has been working really hard on.

“That’s what makes it worth it,” Hines said.

Junior Eric Loux is excited for the concert for multiple reasons.

“There’s going to be a lot of alumni back, so I’m excited to see them,” Loux said. “I’ll have a piece premiered, too.”

Loux wrote the piece “Noch Einmal” for his composition lesson last semester.

“I was having a lot of trouble coming up with anything, so I was digging through stuff I’d written that didn’t really work out,” Loux said.

But he found a piece he had put on the back burner from last year and used it to create the piece. “Noch Einmal” is German for “again.” In the piece, he uses a lot of the same rhythms, which is where the name of the piece came from.

Riley said each of the 10 pieces being performed Saturday will offer something a little different for the audience.

“We think (the concert will) have a lot of variety to it,” Riley said. “It should be fun.”