Josh Kayne, a freshman from Deerfield in music business, said playing percussion is one of the most exciting experiences he has had as a musician because it allows him to experiment with sounds people do not normally hear in music.

“In percussion, playing anything from small finger cymbals to a glass container or bowl, it ranges from about anything you can think of,” he said, “Sometimes we play an alarm clock, just to get a unique and interesting sound, there are no dull moments in the performances.”

SIU does not get many chances to expand musically like more metropolitan areas because of its southern Illinois location, but the festival was created to change that. The celebration features musical performances from SIU’s own faculty and students, along with special guest artists from across the country.

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Events, such as “Metropolis” film screening with a live university-hosted orchestra and jazz ensemble are only some of the diverse music shows presented during the festival. Both graduate and undergraduate students had the opportunity to experiment with modern music on their own at a concert without the help of university faculty members this week.

Frank Stemper, a composer in residence at the university, said the students performed an hour-long piece from Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians on April 3 as part of the Outside the Box Musical Festival, which runs until Monday.

“No one asked them to do it, we just stayed out of their way helping a little if they needed something, but they did it all themselves,” said Stemper, the festival’s organizer.

Kayne, said he will play in the festival’s final concert with the SIU percussion group.

The festival allows students to study more adventurous music types and encourages experimentation with classical instruments to create a modern sound.

Some students think the event is not only important to the university, but also to the music culture and experiences students can witness on campus.

Kayne said the concerts provided by the festival are a nice change of pace for music students.

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“It is a refresher for the students to get something that they do not see everyday,” he said. “We always go to class and studio classes and play and hear the same pieces, so it is nice to get a taste of something we do not normally perform,” he said.

Drew Fehrenbacher, a senior from Newton studying liberal arts and music business, said the modern music that guest artists play at festivals influence the university’s student body and staff.

“It definitely brings in something new to the university, and it helps attracts students,” he said. “I think it is also exciting for the faculty and helps bring in new ideas and grabs the attention of everyone in the area,” he said.

Although the faculty runs the festival, students make an active effort to get involved with the concerts to try and establish their own musical talents.

Stemper said the festival began as a small weekend event nearly 10 years ago, but it became much more with the talent of the university’s students and faculty.

“Gradually, the festival built up until roughly 2008 when we had our first full-blown two-week event with a lot of concerts, guest composers and performers who came to the campus to put on a festival and play modern music,” he said.

He said the faculties’ previous experience with other concerts and musicians helped bring in guest talent featured at the events, but it was the hard organizer’s labor that made the festival.

Stemper said he did play his part in organizing the festival, but it was the hard work of organizer Kathleen Ginther, who also teaches music theory and composition, that brought the festival together.

Stemper said with the help of another organizer, the festival was a success, and he hopes to continue bringing it to the university.

“It has become a great outlet for the talent we have here,” he said.

He said the School of Music has a diverse staff full of talented musicians who not only help direct concerts but also help draw music enthusiasts’ attention from around the region.

Ron Coulter, Senior Lecturer of percussion, improvisation and jazz studies and a festival performer, said the opportunities provided by the festival extend beyond the university.

He said an arts program this large is rather unusual because of the university’s distance from a large city, but the smaller population makes the impressions artists leave on their audience that much greater.

“We have a diverse amount of artists in such a small area, and I see it tend to affect everyone on an individual basis,” he said, “Whether it is faculty, audience member or students, seeing great artists perform in person really changes your work and how you see the world when you wake up the next day.”