MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College will host a pair of concerts on March 2 in the Kasch Performance Hall of the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium. Both performances are free and open to the public.

An eclectic mix of music best defines the first program, titled "Abstract Variations," which will be performed at 2 p.m. by the Monmouth College Winds. Led by instrumental activities director Stephen Richter, the ensemble will open with a work called "Epinicion" by John Paulsen. Written in 1972 near the end of the Vietnam War, it attempts to portray, by way of the aleatoric composition technique, the inevitable despair and absolute horror of war.

Next, the Winds will perform the 1996 composition "Pastoral Nocturne" by Bruce Yurko. Richter said the poignant piece was composed as a result of an untimely death of a student at Sterling High School in Runnemede, N. J., and musically conveys the many emotions that remain from the tragedy.

Other pieces include "Fanfare for Brass" by Erich Korngold, "Metroplex" by Illinois composer Robert Sheldon and "A Chorus Line Spectacular" by Marvin Hamlisch.

The Monmouth Winds is a 40-member ensemble for what Richter defines as the "serious musician." It is open only by audition or recommendation of the applied instructors. Richter said the group will embark next year on a regional, five-day tour that will include performances at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, the Charles Allis Art Museum in Milwaukee and the Harold Washington Public Library in Chicago. The Monmouth Winds, along with the Monmouth Chorale, will tour Europe in 2010.

Jay N. Regennitter will take the stage at 7:30 that evening for a special organ recital. The associate pastor of The Riverside United Methodist Church in Moline, Regennitter joined the MC music faculty last fall and serves as accompanist for the music department’s choral ensembles. He received a B.A. degree in choral music education and an M.A. in organ performance from Western Illinois University and continued his graduate work and received an M.Div. degree from the Divinity School at Duke University.

As a conductor, accompanist and performer, Regennitter has been heard in venues throughout the U.S., and he has a diverse background in teaching music from early childhood through the collegiate level.

The first half of his program will include a variety of selections, including "Litanies" by Jehan Alain, "Echo Fantasia in A" by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck and "Prelude and Fugue in G Major," Op. 37, No. 2 by Felix Mendelssohn.

"One would be remiss to play an organ recital without including works by Johann Sebastian Bach," said Regennitter, who will perform two Lenten chorales (from the "Orgelbüchlein"), "Lamm Gottes, unschuldig" (O innocent Lamb of God) and "O Mensch, Bewein dein Sünde Gro§" (O man, lament your great sin).

The second half of the program will include "Prelude and Fugue in B-flat Major" by Elizabeth Stirling, "Variations on ‘Slane’" by the contemporary composer John Eggert and "Choral Varié sur le thème du ‘Veni Creator’," Op. 4 by Maurice Duruflé.

Regennitter will perform his recital on the college’s Ardell Pipe Organ, which was restored in 2004. The restoration of the organ, which was part of the renovation of the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium, was made possible by a gift from Robert Ardell ’62 and his wife, Lee.