Although saxophones and clarinets may have reputations as jazz instruments, there are still many performers who play them in classical styles.

Penn State Professor of Saxophone David Stambler is one of these musicians, and he is hosting a conference for others like him.

Stambler will perform with several contemporaries at the Single Reed Summit, a conference of saxophone and clarinet players from around the country. He will also perform along with several other professional musicians tonight at The Potpourri Chamber Music Concert, the focal point of the summit.

"[The summit is] a way to acknowledge and celebrate our common performance techniques," Stambler said.

One of the biggest reasons they get together is "just to hear each other play," he said.

The concert will feature a variety of classically written music, including the world premiere of one composition, Stambler said.

The piece, "Still the Fire," is written for saxophone, piano and cello. The Margot Music Fund, named for Stambler's late wife, commissioned John Anthony Lennon to compose the piece.

Lennon, who has a history of composing classical saxophone pieces, was one of the first composers Stambler thought of for the commission, Stambler said.

The concert will also feature older pieces, including J. S. Bach's first cello suite performed on alto saxophone by Andrew Dahlke of the University of Northern Colorado.

"Not many people have heard the cello suites played on saxophone," he said. "It works quite well, so this should be good."

A sonata written by American composer Leonard Bernstein will also be performed at the concert. The piece will feature clarinet and piano parts.

"This is a young work by Bernstein, and we see glimpses of some of his later work," Julianne Kirk said. "I particularly hear hints of some of the tunes from his famous musical 'West Side Story.' "

Kirk, the assistant professor of clarinet at State University of New York at Potsdam, will perform "an unusual variety of clarinet music," including works by Maurice Ravel and Hungarian composer Bela Kovacs, she said.

A variety of students and professors from Michigan, Colorado and other states are expected to attend the summit, allowing for a diverse meeting of musicians.

But the summit is not only about music performance. Another important function of the weekend is networking and socializing, Stambler said.

"When you work at the highest level of the music profession, you build relationships with specific people and you enjoy them all," Stambler said.