Although only an hour's traveling distance apart, Bucknell University and Penn State have loose ties. However, this weekend will bring the two universities together through song.

The Penn State University Choir and the Bucknell University Concert Chorale will perform individual and combined pieces at both campuses at the invitation of Daniel Dauner, Penn State's University Choir director. He said the University Choir Chamber Ensemble, a division of the University Choir directed by Russ Shelley, will also perform at both concerts.

The choirs will perform at 8 p.m. tomorrow in the Recital Hall of the Music Building and at 2:30 Sunday in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts at Bucknell. The choirs will practice together for the first time Saturday morning.

William Payn, director of the Concert Chorale, and Dauner had planned the concert and chose the choirs' performance music. Together, the choirs will perform works including the Vaughan Williams "Te Deum in G" and selections by Norman Luboff and Peter Wilhousky. Dauner said the directors chose these selections because they want to offer music which will appeal to the different audiences.

"Everything we're doing is music that people can relate to," Payn said.

The University Choir will perform selections by Dello Joio, Johannes Brahms and varied arrangements of love songs. Dauner decided to begin his selections with less well-known pieces to initially attract the audience's interest.

"It's better to go on to pieces that are a little lighter," Dauner said.

Joseph Cannella (physics-junior), University Choir president, described the selections as ranging from classical to contemporary.

"My favorites are the spiritual pieces rather than seculars," he said.

The Chamber Ensemble, consisting of about 20 present and former members of the University Choir, will feature madrigals and folk songs by Morley, Dowland and Seiber. The group, auditioned by Shelley, performs songs which are more appropriate for a smaller choir. Shelley said the selections are chosen from the Renaissance period, when choirs were very small.

The 55-member Concert Chorale will perform a three-movement work by Rob Landes and works by John Halloran. Payn said the first movement has a Latin beat and the second has a jazz beat.

Two non-published works, "Images" by Rob Landes and "Nelly Bly" arranged by John Holloran, along with "The Water is Wide," created by Roger Foltrom, the father of a former Bucknell student will also be performed by the Concert Chorale.

"I like to perform new works," Payn said.

Sunday's performance will charge admission to raise money for Evangelical Hospital. Ticket sales for the concert have already raised $11,000 for the hospital.

Payn said the concerts will give members of the choirs an opportunity to get to know each other and share their interest in music. The choirs are similar in that most of the members are not music majors, he said.

Cannella said he feels the joint concert is a good opportunity for both choirs.

"I'm looking forward to it," Cannella said. "We end up with life-long friends."