Penn State students and faculty will bring variety and diversity, originality and music to campus with Musica Nova at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Latin for "new music," this concert brings the original compositions of Penn State students together to showcase and debut their work. This is the third concert in a four-part series held each year.

"There are so many composition students here who write pieces and create music, and this is where they get to see it performed," said School of Music publicist Devin Burnworth, a graduate student at Penn State. "What is great is that it's all original work, and so much of it is talent from right here at Penn State."

Paul Barsom, an assistant professor of composition at Penn State, is coordinating the event.

"Musica Nova is a group of pieces, mostly by students, that are prepared independently as part of their composition studies," Barsom said. "While there is always a great variety of composers at the concert, most of the pieces performed are done by student composers right here at Penn State."

The concert can feature a variety of composers and musicians, both students and faculty.

Barsom said this specific concert showcases a very wide range of musical styling and ideas.

"This concert is a great way to present new original music here at Penn State," Barsom said. "In a lot of places, you hear the same thing from year to year. But Musica Nova is different every single time it is held. No two concerts are ever the same because the music is always brand new and always changing. Wind octets, voice and piano, electronic music, solo horn, classical guitar -- the range is impossible to pin down, but the variety keeps it interesting."

Christian Baldini is a graduate student at Penn State who will be conducting one of the ensembles for Musica Nova on Saturday. He said that not only will the concert feature variety in the tone and style of the pieces, but it will also showcase cultural values.

"The purpose of this concert cycle is to create a space where music can be especially composed and, at the same time, create a moment where everyone in the audience can know the important but non-traditional range of our world," Baldini said. "It is important to be able to display and recognize influences from several different cultures within the music."

Baldini will be conducting an ensemble he founded in 2003 as it performs two works written by composers from Argentina.

"I have asked two very well-known composers to write pieces for this group, and I thought it was a great opportunity to showcase, here in the States, music from other cultures," Baldini said.

Baldini said he believes the diversity and talent this concert holds will make it an exceptional performance and well worth the time.

"To the audience, this concert will make a difference," Baldini said. "There are certain works of art -- literature, painting, music -- that produce something strong and intense for the audience. This is, to me, what an artist seeks with his activity, to produce a change. This concert will cause change. I think it is a very enriching experience for anyone eager to know something new and different."