The Wichita State University Percussion Ensemble’s upcoming concert, “Marimba Magic,” will present plenty of upbeat moments, including an announcement from the university about a collaborative project that will benefit both WSU percussion and the Boys and Girls Club of South Central Kansas.

The concert is at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 22, in Wilner Auditorium. World-class marimbist Kevin Bobo will perform, as will Wichita’s Boys and Girls Club Steel Band.

“This concert will not disappoint,” Scholl said. “The students have rehearsed the music so well that he (Bobo) considers them not students but professional colleagues. They have all brought so much more than the right notes, dynamics and rhythms.”

Members of the Boys and Girls Club Steel Band will perform side by side with the WSU Steel Band. Faculty and students in percussion have taken the kids from the Boys and Girls Club under their wing for the past six years, mentoring and teaching.

But what really sets this concert apart from most, Scholl said, is that Wichita State will announce its near completion of a two-and-a-half-year collaborative project with percussion industry leaders Pearl Drums, Adams Percussion, Zildjian Cymbals and Vic Firth Sticks along with local donors and the Kansas Health Foundation.

With $130,000 worth of percussion instruments donated, the children of the Boys and Girls Club will now be fully equipped with professional quality percussion instruments enabling them to start their own percussion ensemble.

In addition, the WSU School of Music will receive much needed percussion instruments that will increase its standing as a top music program.