The Eastern Concert Band will be switching paces during its concert on Thursday be changing the variety of tempos in its program.

The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Dvorak Concert Hall of the Doudna Fine Arts Center.

Alicia Neal, the director of bands and the director of the Eastern Concert Band, said she is excited about the different selections for the program.

“Old Home Days,” by Charles Ives has five movements.

“It’s got a bunch of different stuff in it, some slow and some fast,” Neal said. “The last movement of it is ‘London Bridge is Falling Down.’ Everyone will remember that tune from their childhood.”

Corey Francis, the assistant director of bands, will also be guest conducting a piece by Michael Lauridsen. They will be performing “Contre qui, Rose,” which will slow down the program’s tempo for a moment.

They will be finishing up with “Invincible Eagle” by John Phillip Sousa.

She said she is excited about the upcoming concert and hopes many parents can come support their students for their first concert.

“This is my first concert with this group,” Neal said. “I’m excited to see what kind of crowd we get for this concerts.”

Neal said she is looking forward to “Sun Dance” the most because she has never conducted it.

Neal said her main goal for the concert is for students to showcase their work.

“I want the students to have a rewarding experience,” Neal said. “It’s always fun for them to show what they’ve been working on twice a week for seven weeks. I just want them to feel good about their performance and feel like they’ve learned something in the process.”

Neal said the wide variety of music will entertain the audiences.

“People are going to hear catchy tunes while they are there,” Neal said.

Tickets are $5.

“It’s an evening of music making, it should be really fun,” Neal said.

Samantha McDaniel can be reached at 581-2812 or slmcdaniel@eiu.edu.