The Alabama Contemporary Ensemble will perform Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Moody Music Building’s Concert Hall.

The concert is free and open to the public.

The Alabama Contemporary Ensemble is a group of selected students who specialize in the performance of contemporary music.

“This concert is one of two concerts conducted each year to give the students experience in dealing with this music and to make it available to the University Community,” said Marvin Johnson, who is an associate professor of music and the director of the ensemble.

Johnson said he has been producing electronic music concerts for many years and started conducting the contemporary ensemble three years ago. After being a part of Alabama Contemporary Ensemble, one thing he said he discovered was the combination of electronic works with traditional ensembles has proven to be a very good one, with the electronic compositions serving as interludes or “intermezzi” for the traditional works. He said attending the concert would be a rare opportunity for students.

“They will have the opportunity to hear important recent music, which is not frequently performed,” Johnson said.

Dawn Neely, DMA candidate in vocal performance, said she has been a part of Alabama Contemporary Ensemble since the beginning of fall 2009. She said she will sing the soprano part of Peter Westergaard’s composition “Ode.”

To prepare for this demanding part, Neely said she participated in weekly rehearsals with other working on the piece with Johnson and Westergaard.

“The music is very challenging, but I’ve loved the experience and the chance to work with many of our instrumentalists on contemporary music,” Neely said. “It was also wonderful to actually work with the composer, Mr. Westergaard, on his piece.”

She also said she liked being able to work closely with a faculty member. “I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to work with Dr. Johnson on contemporary music, especially since this is his area of expertise.  I’ve learned so much about a style of music that many singers don’t delve into because of its challenging nature.”