For people who love free, live music, the New Music Festival is taking place at the University this week.

“The festival is a showcase for musicians in the College of Music Arts,” said Kurt Doles, director of the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music.

Graduate student Sam McKnight was one of the people that helped plan the festival.

“It’s my first year planning the event,” McKnight said. “I definitely want to do it again because it’s a great experience.”

Including University musicians, the event will have 30 other composers from all around the country.

One of those performers is jazz musician George Lewis. Along with performing, Lewis is giving two lectures.

“The concerts and lectures will be given at the College of Musical Arts,” Doles said.

During the week, there will be an art exhibition at the Fine Arts Gallery accompanying the concerts and lectures, which will be open on Wednesday.

“[The exhibition is a] series of installation pieces that use audio and video,” Doles said.

The artists that are taking part in the exhibition are artists Pamela Z, who is performing Wednesday 7-8 p.m., and Lewis.

“It’s nice we get to showcase both music that [Lewis] writes and his other stuff too,” Doles said.

McKnight is excited for the beginning of the festival.

“There are so many composers coming, it’s really difficult to pick out any one,” McKnight said. “I’m certainly excited for George Lewis … really looking forward to seeing Pamela Z’s compilations.”

Even though McKnight can’t pick a favorite, he believes that the University is “very fortunate to hear [the music] this week.”

While 30 performers come from out of town, there are other performers from the University’s community, including students.

“We push the boundaries of what our students have done,” Doles said.

One of the students who is performing is Elise Roy, a graduate student.

“I am performing five pieces and I am in four of the eight concerts,” Roy said. “I am a member of the improvisation ensemble as well.”

While there are performances at the University, there is also a free concert that will be hosted off-campus at Cla-Zel featuring a University alumnus’ ensemble.

“On Thursday night, there is a concert that is a combination of doctoral students and the Ensemble Dal Niente,” Doles said.

The final event that will take place will be on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the College of Musical Arts and is not free to the public.

The concerts are the wind ensemble and the orchestra concert and tickets can be purchased at bgsu.edu/arts.

The festival will start Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Gallery with an opening performance by Pamela Z.