Concerts given this fall by students in ASU's School of Music will be in a new musical fashion that emphasizes audience participation.
The concerts vary in style, but all incorporate involvement from attendees.
This style of music performance is the beginning of a new tradition at ASU, said associate band director Martin Province.
"This is something never heard of at any other university because it involves the audience, and it creates a sense of contact," he added.
The concert style is designed to educate audience members about a piece of music's origin as they listen.
Gary Hill, director of bands, has begun teaching his students the various arts of these interactive concerts.
The first concert, titled Music History 101, will be on Oct. 7 at Gammage Auditorium.
Hill said he hopes to present various musical pieces and then receive feedback from guests, creating an interactive concert.
"It is less like you are walking through a musical museum and more like you are a part of it," Hill said.
Musicians will be seated all around the auditorium, including in the balcony, throughout the audience and on stage. Their aim is to provide a crash course in music history.
The students will play a certain type of music, then engage in an informal discussion with the audience about the music itself, Hill said.
The different groups will play a range of music, including Bach, Schoenberg, Renaissance, classical, romanticism, minimalistic, electronic and acoustic pieces.
There will be 60 students performing in the concert. These students are broken down into small groups of musicians. Each group will take part in one particular type of music.
Bill Staub, a music education senior who will play the euphonium in the concert, said, "I think this is a brilliant design by Gary Hill."
The concert should help audiences relate to classical music that many people tend to shy away from, Staub added.
The school also will present other types of interactive concerts this year, including a concert in which professional dancers will dance to a tune and then invite guests on stage and teach them the dance.
Hill said that not knowing what will happen or what the response will be is the fun part of interactive arts.
Reach the reporter at jenifer.javia@asu.edu.
