As part of a fund-raising project, students were asked by Dallas Brass founder and director Michael Levine to sell to area music lovers compact discs and audio tapes of the group.

Because the students sold 634 copies in the area, the Dallas Brass will bring its unique blend of traditional brass instruments and percussion to Shryock Auditorium at 8 p.m. Saturday.

The real beauty of the project is that the kids have brought us to town, Levine said. They have generated the revenue.

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While some of the sales the students were able to amass went to expenses to keep the Dallas Brass going, the rest of the fund-raising revenue went to the music programs of the various schools involved.

But the capital aspect of selling compact discs was not the prime reason the students were asked to partake in the project.

Knowing or not knowing it, [the students] are bringing music to their community. They’re helping spread music simply by going through the fund-raising process, Levine said. And they’re making money for their [music] programs as well as priming the community for the concert.

Any way you look at this thing it’s a win, win, win situation. There are no losers.

Just like big-time salespeople are rewarded with fat commissions, the 100 top-selling students will have the chance to perform with the Dallas Brass during the sextet’s finale.

The idea that the kids have made this happen is why we want them to be part of this show, Levine said.

School of Music Director Robert Weiss said the way the group includes young musicians sets the Dallas Brass apart from other performing artists.

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Not only are they doing a very high level, professional concert, but they are involving some of the high school musicians from the area, he said. This is a group that’s different than a lot because of the high interest in music education in the schools.

Though the Dallas Brass was brought to Shryock with the help of students, the music gracing the ears of the crowd on hand is aimed at people of all ages, and it has been for the 12 years the group has been performing.

We strive to reach people that are four years old to 100 years old, Levine said. What I love about what we do is that we try to bridge generations.

We try to play the music that will have little children, their parents and grandparents all enjoying the same music at the same time.

One way the Dallas Brass entice and please listeners of all ages is the addition of percussion to the otherwise all-brass lineup.

A brass quintet is a very common, small ensemble. Brass quintet and percussion is fairly recent, and has become really popular because of the rhythmic energy of percussion added to a very common ensemble, Weiss said. It makes for a really good group.

Levine said a percussionist doubles the sound of the group and allows the Dallas Brass to perform a wider variety of songs.

You get a lot of mileage out of that one player, he said. It opens up the whole spectrum of tone colors. It’s not like five brass with drums just added on because it’s such an integral part of the group.

But people in the area that will hear the unique instrumentation of the Dallas Brass may not have had the opportunity without the implementation of the fund-raising project.

While pop music bands have the benefit of Top-40 radio stations, Levine said the performers at the more artistic end of the music world do not even get support from classical stations because they don’t play current music by modern artists.

So without the help of radio, the support spawned by the students may be a new way to go about promotion.

We’re thrilled with what this concert represents. A new way to market music and help the band at the same time, Levine said. The kids may be promoting us, but they’re also helping themselves.

I’m hoping we’re on to something with [the fund-raising project].

Whether the Dallas Brass are playing big band music or the theme to Star Wars, Levine said some of the generalizations on the styles of music the Dallas Brass employ will be blown out the door when the group performs Saturday.

We’re trying to break some of those classical music stereotypes that this music is supposed to be sober or somber, he said. Classical music is fading whether it’s from sports or all the technology. There’s a big concern about that. But we’re trying to do our share to keep the art within this type of music.

We just want to show people that classical music is fun too. Music is music, and it’s meant to be fun.

Seats for the Dallas Brass concert are $9 for the general public and $5 for students, children 15 and younger and senior citizens 55 and older.

For information, call 453-2787.