For students who enjoy music but prefer free tickets instead of expensive ones, or prefer Bizet to Andrew Lloyd Webber, the School of Music and Dance offers the perfect alternative weekend night-out.

Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m., the University of Arizona Philharmonic, conducted by graduate orchestral conducting students Adam Boyles and Linus Lerner, will perform at Crowder Hall.

The concert is free to the public and includes classical pieces that cover a wide span of time. Attendees will enjoy works by Haydn, Bizet, Faure and the Arizona premiere of an overture composed by UA doctoral candidate Todd Gabriel.

ãItâs a neat piece, pretty complex,ä said Boyles about Gabrielâs overture. ãIt has a lot of time, meter and rhythm issues that have really challenged the Philharmonic.ä

The UA Philharmonic, established in August, is an all-campus orchestra comprised of dozens of students and faculty members. Boyles said there was a good initial turnout for the ensemble.

ãWe sent out fliers explaining the group to see if people were interested,ä Boyles said. ãWe walked into the first rehearsal of the year, and there were about 35 people. We were very pleased.ä

Since then, the Philharmonic has expanded to include more than 50 musicians. Some of the students are music majors, Boyles said, but the majority of them are not.

ãWe get a broad span of people,ä he said. ãI think that having non-music majors in the Philharmonic is heartening. Itâs nice to see peers who are not trapped in (the Music building) all day.ä

Lerner noted that many of the Philharmonicâs music majors are freshmen preparing to join the UA Symphony. This benefits the student, who gains valuable practice time, and the Philharmonic, which utilizes the studentsâ skills and knowledge. However, Lerner said, a major objective of the ensemble is to have a good time performing.

ãThe initiating point of the orchestra was to have fun and to allow people who donât get the opportunity to play in an orchestra (to do so),ä he said.

As exposure for the Philharmonic has increased; so has attendance. The groupâs most recent concert attracted a crowd of more than 250 people.

ãWe have a very eclectic audience, and our attendance has been growing,ä Lerner said.

Both Lerner and Boyles emphasize that any UA student or faculty member can join the Philharmonic ÷ for credit or just for fun ÷ and encourage all interested musicians to contact Boyles at aboyles@u.arizona.edu.

ãIt is definitely open for anyone who plays an orchestral instrument to come and play with us,ä Lerner said. ãItâs a fun experience; we try to do as much as we can to please the orchestra. And if they like what we play, it pleases the audience.ä