A dozen Connecticut College music faculty performers join with five guest musicians Friday to perform "Masterpieces of the Romantic and Modern Eras."

Midge Thomas, associate professor of music and chair of the department, says, "In 'Masterpieces of the Romantic and Modern Eras,' we explore the rich musical time period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when harmonies were at their most lush, and composers were pushing boundaries in pursuit of new modes of musical expression."

Among the pieces will be Tchaikovsky's "Souvenir de Florence." The composer wanted this string sextet to sound big and said, "It seems that rather than writing for six voices, I am, in essence, composing for the orchestra."

Debussy's "Danses Sacrée et Profane," written for harp and string quartet, will mark the debut of the Lyon & Healy harp the college received as a gift from Mario and AngelaRita Rossi.

Also on the program are Olivier Messiaen's song cycle "Poèmes pour Mi" and Silvestre Revueltas' "Homenaje a Federico García Lorca."

The performers include faculty members Mark McCormick (bass), Daniel Lee (violin). Thomas Brown (trumpet), Gary Buttery (tuba), Patricia Harper (flute), Peter Jarvis (percussion), Victor Johnson (trombone), Thomas Labadorf (clarinet), Patricia Newman (piano), Megan Sesma (harp) Samantha Lane Talmadge (soprano) and Mark Seto, who will conduct the Revueltas piece.

Guest musicians are Theodore Arm (violin), Joseph Gottesman (viola), Ezra Seltzer (cello), Christopher Lane (trumpet) and Barbara Wiggin (viola).

- KRISTINA DORSEY

"Masterpieces of the Romantic and Modern Eras," 7:30 p.m. Friday, Evans Hall, Cummings Arts Center, Connecticut College, New London; presented by the Connecticut College Department of Music; $10, $5 seniors and students, free for Conn College students, faculty and staff; (860) 439-2720.