A lot of banging and clanging is going to happen tonight in Esber Recital Hall as Percussion I Ensemble and Mallet Ensemble perform, but Professor Dan Armstrong said he believes the noises will be a much-needed change for the listeners in the audience.

Armstrong, who has been a member of the Penn State School of Music faculty since 1982, directs both ensembles. Armstrong said this is the first concert of the semester for these ensembles, which usually perform six concerts a year.

He also said that the performance will focus on an array of musical selections.

"The hallmark of a percussion performance is variety," he said. "We're going to be playing a wide variety of serious or classical pieces and some other lighter tunes."

Armstrong said each piece ranges in its number of instrumentalists -- some could have four, and some could have a dozen or more people playing at once.

There are also two featured soloists for the concert. The first is Scott Kemerer, who is a graduate teaching assistant in percussion. He will be performing "Concerto for Marimba and Percussion Ensemble" by Brazilian composer Ney Rosauro.

Kemerer said the piece itself explores various Brazilian dances and presents a challenge to the mallet player, as Kemerer will perform the piece with two mallets in each hand.

"This piece is my first real study of a marimba concerto and has been a great experience for me," Kemerer said.

Kemerer said Armstrong recommend he perform the piece and that Armstrong is using this concerto for further development in his four-mallet skills, as well as his development as an overall musician.

Armstrong is also featuring another soloist in the concert, trumpet professor Langston Fitzgerald III. Fitzgerald will be playing "Concerto for Trumpet and Percussion Ensemble" by Philip Parker.

Fitzgerald said this particular piece is a conversation between the trumpet and the various percussion instruments that are accompanying him.

He said there are many alternations throughout the song as it changes from fast to slow or quiet to louder.

"There's a huge variety of instruments backing me up," he said. "It's pretty overwhelming."

Fitzgerald said his performance would have an impact and would be an energetic experience for the audience. He said the piece is dynamic with a lot of energy.

"I think quite a lot of excitement will be generated," he said.

Although the concert is slated for Valentine's Day, Armstrong said the theme of love was originally an idea, but it never really panned out.

"There is an aria from the opera Carmen that I think is about love, but I'm not sure because I don't speak Italian," he said.