WELL, MAYBE NOT A 1,000 BUT CERTAINLY A LOT >>>

Forget less is more. As far as we're concerned, more is more - which is why the more composers the better.

Confused?

It's simple: The University of Puget Sound will be hosting classical music composers from around the world (OK, our nation plus Canada) Friday and Saturday as part of the Society of Composers 2010 Region VIII Conference — and it includes free concerts for the public.

Yup, highlighting the conference will be seven concerts - free and open to the public - that showcase the diverse work of the attending composers. According to conference host Robert Hutchinson from the UPS School of Music, the concerts will lean toward modern classical music, also known as Western art music or contemporary music.

"Some music is very accessible, borrowing harmonies and rhythms from pop music, whereas other pieces will be dissonant and challenging," Hutchinson states in a press release.

Hutchinson's own work, Jeux d'Enfants for orchestra, will have its premier performance in a new version for band.

The event will also include a lecture by guest composer Carter Pann titled, "The Confidence to Be a Tonalist." No doubt that lecture will tonally rock.

Details for the free performances:

Friday, March 5

10 a.m.: Chamber Music Concert 1, Schneebeck Concert Hall

1:30 p.m.: Percussion Ensemble and Electro-Acoustic Concert

3 p.m.: Carter Pann's Lecture, Music Room L6

7:30 p.m.: Symphony Orchestra, Schneebeck Concert Hall

Saturday, March 6

9 a.m.: Chamber Music Concert 2, Schneebeck Concert Hall

11 a.m.: Voice and Choral Concert, Schneebeck Concert Hall

2 p.m.: Brave New Works String Quartet Concert, Schneebeck Concert Hall

7:30 p.m.: Wind Ensemble, Schneebeck Concert Hall

Click here for directions and a map of the UPS campus.