With musical pieces ranging from a piano and clarinet duet about a homicidal suburban princess, to a synthesized tribute to a '60s cult British miniseries, Musica Nova will break the stereotype of classical-music recitals.

School of Music composition students will present their new compositions in the Musica Nova recital tonight at Esber Recital Hall.

"It's going to be weird," Peter Buck, instructor in the School of Music, said. "There are going to be pieces that are very unusual, with different types of instruments and sounds."

Andrew Litts (sophomore-music composition) said he thinks students may be hesitant to go to the recital because of the type of music that will be performed, but they should anyway and should keep an open mind.

"A lot of people don't like contemporary music and tend to shove it aside because the music does not have your typical tonal-chordal progressions and beautiful melodies. Not all art has to be beautiful," he said. "Sometimes, it is nice not to understand the music on the first listening, where you end up walking away saying 'What just happened?' "

One of the more unique pieces, Buck said, is the one about the mental state of the pampered suburban princess, after having been locked away for 15 years and then forced to marry a "prince." She eventually discovers how little freedom she has and resolves to murder those who have held her down, he said.

The composer of the piece, Ryan DeNardis (freshman-music composition) said he wrote it as both a live dramatic play and a piano and clarinet duet, with the acting just as integral as the music of the piece.

"It was written to bring attention to parents over-controlling their children, as well as to satirize the suburban American life, with an added twist," he said.

Buck said he feels the songs in the show are exceptionally strong, well crafted and make the listener think.

"The music they are performing is very out of the ordinary," he said. "Everyday in the U.S. we're inundated with music, and it all begins to sound the same. What students will hear at the recital is not like anything they've heard before. It will make you think, and it confronts you."

David Bowers (sophomore- music composition) said he wrote a piece as a tribute to the British television miniseries The Prisoner.

"The show was about individualism, was very metaphorical and was left up to individual interpretation," he said. "I took audio from the show directly and added my own music and sound effects using a synthesizer to retell the story of the show in my own way."

Bowers will have another piece performed at the recital by a string quartet.

"This piece is by far my favorite of what I have written so far in my life," he said. "In it I used several different techniques, including some 20th century styles to create four different emotions, one for each movement. I did not label the movements, because I feel I made it obvious through the music itself what emotion each movement represents, so there was no need to give the listener the crutch of labeling them."

Bowers said Musica Nova will be an extreme change to what the audience is used to hearing.

"The Musica Nova concerts may seem a bit extreme to the average listener because they are not exposed to music like this anywhere else," he said. "That is why it is important to have these concerts. Too many people think of classical or art music as being a dead tradition that ended in the 19th century."

DeNardis said the recital has been a lot of work, but in the end it is worth all the effort.

"Musica Nova isn't just about the composition majors," he said. "It gives performers the chance to step out of their usual repertoire and gives listeners a new sense of discovery. It's about everyone celebrating and enjoying the creation of new art."