Jazz professionals are invading from across the state.

This weekend, the School of Music will be hosting its 2007 Jazz Festival. Students from middle schools and high schools across the country have been invited to participate in this annual event.

"The jazz festival has been going on since around 2000, maybe earlier.

This year we have four high schools and one middle school participating in the event. Also, four Penn State jazz bands will be performing during the weekend," Caleb Rebarchak (sophomore-music) said.

Friday evening, there will be an All-Star Combo concert featuring guests Jim McFalls on trombone, Lou Rainone on piano, Tom Baldwin on string bass, Tim Leahy on trumpet and Dick Oatts on saxophone.

On Saturday, concerts will be held throughout the day featuring the students of the festival.

To wrap up the weekend, the final concert will feature Penn State's top jazz band, Centre Dimensions.

The weekend will also feature workshops and master classes for up and coming musicians.

"The purpose of this festival is to give young musicians a chance to work with professionals. It also serves as a recruiting weekend because the students get to see a lot of the campus," Rebarchak said.

Rebarchak said the ultimate goal of the festival is to make it into a Northeastern event, eventually extending invitations to students in other states.

The professionals coming in this weekend are composers, clinicians and educators.

Rebarchak said all of them have great talent and experience in jazz music so they have a lot to offer.

"It's free live music. That's what I can say to get people to come. Where else can you get this caliber of music? You'll hear jazz, something that's outside of what you can usually get in State College," Rebarchak said.