In addition to MC’s Sound of 5 a capella ensemble, audiences will also be treated to performances by the Scotsmen, the Monmouth College Percussion Ensemble and MC music faculty members Ian Moschenross and Stephen Richter.

Marimbas, vibraphones, bells, gongs, timpani, drums and an array of other instruments will take center stage for the first concert on May 2 at 7:30 p.m., as the MC Percussion Ensemble presents its spring concert.

"You name it, and we’ll have it on stage," says Tony Oliver, director of the ensemble, as he describes what instruments will perform for the annual concert.

The concert will begin with an all-keyboard percussion arrangement of the legendary J.S. Bach piece, "Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring," It will be followed by "October Mountain" by Alan Hovhaness and "Streams" by Warren Benson. Written 20 years apart in the mid-1900s, the compositions share two important characteristics, says Oliver. "They are quiet, and they make use of various percussion ‘color’ more so than rhythms to create their musical textures. This is especially true of ‘Streams,’ which makes use of vocalizations – humming and whispering – and other special effects."

Also featured will be Vic Firth’s "Encore in Jazz," which combines an early ’60s swinging style with the sounds of the percussion ensemble. Firth, being a timpanist, even put in a solo for himself, said Oliver.

The only all-drum piece on the program, "4/4 for Four," is four minutes of gradually building drumming excitement. The program concludes with Khachaturian’s "Sabre Dance," from his ballet "Gayane," arranged for percussion ensemble by James L. Moore.

The Sound of 5 and the Scotsmen will share the stage for a harmonizing concert of classic golden oldies on May 3 at 7:30 p.m. The concert will first feature the Sound of 5, an eight-member a cappella group composed of two sopranos, two altos, two tenors and two basses. The ensemble will perform a variety of popular favorites, including the Chordettes’ 1958 pop hit "Lollipop," Joe Cocker’s 1975 classic "You Are so Beautiful" and two Beatles tunes, "The Long and Winding Road" and "In My Life."

The Scotsmen, one of MC’s newest ensembles, will take the stage next. Performing pieces for tenors and basses, including "In the Still of the Night" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," the Scostmen are a student-run, a cappella group composed of 12 men from various academic disciplines.

Canceled: A matinee piano and clarinet recital, featuring the virtuosity of Moschenross and Richter, will close the busy weekend of concerts on May 4 at 2 p.m. Richter, director of instrumental activities, will perform on clarinet, while Moschenross, assistant professor of music, will play the piano.

The program for the two accomplished musicians will include the "Grand Duo Concertante" by Carl Maria von Weber, the sonata "Undine" by Carl Reinecke and "Sonata No. 2 in E-flat Major" by Johannes Brahms.