If your idea of classical music is a bunch of old guys who died long before you were born playing stuffy music, the Eastman Wind Ensemble would present a surprise. If however, you are looking for a younger group playing a variety of traditional classical and newer classical stylings, look no further.

On Tuesday evening the Eastman Wind Ensemble demonstrated the cutting edge styles which have kept the group popular for more than 40 years.

The group. made up of college students at the graduate and undergraduate levels from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., demonstrated a proficiency more common in groups with greater age and experience.

One of the keys to the group’s success is undoubtedly its ability to perform as a cohesive unit. The entire ensemble often seemed to be playing in one voice so that it was virtually impossible to pick out one player or group of players who stuck out in either a good or a bad sense.

The musicians looked as if they were truly enjoying themselves. In this group, people tended to sway back and forth in time to the music during intense moments of their individual parts. When they were not playing, they seemed relaxed instead of trying to remember when their next entrance was.

The downside of the concert was that most of the songs played were almost completely unfamiliar to members of the audience, including myself.

By the intermission, the crowd seemed a little anxious to hear something that was more well-known.

Even though many pieces were unfamiliar, they conjured up strong imagery. In each case the pieces conjured up some type of emotion, which may have been different for everyone else, but when crossing into unfamiliar territory, that is to be expected.

The newer piece was the most was Nigel Clarke’s “Samurai,” which effectively conveyed an old Eastern feel to the newer group.

One of the more interesting parts of the piece was the different feelings it evoked. At times it seemed to portray a bloody battle, and other times it had a softer, almost serene side that both clashed and combined with the music and the existing image of Samurai warriors.

When the group did hit familiar territory, it did it in style. As the last scheduled piece, a very small portion of the group backed piano soloist Lila Gailling on George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” The piece was a wonderful showcase for the group’s versatile talents, which won Gailling the CMC International Stepping Stones Competition in 1994 for the piece that has been kept alive in recent years through its use as an advertising jingle.

The best part of the concert was a song that was not on the program, but one that closed the concert with a bang. For an encore, the group played one of John Phillip Sousa’s best and most famous pieces, “Stars and Stripes Forever,” a piece that sent me home humming the tune with visions of bands marching through my head.

Overall, the concert was a unique experience which was thoroughly enjoyed.