Everyone in eighth blackbird was pleased with Schober's new work. " 'Split Horizon' is an energetic, wonderful, stimulating piece," Kaplan said. "It's kind of traditional, and in overall form, it's on a large scale."

She said that "Split Horizon" is not particularly avant-garde. "But he makes good use of the colors of the sextet, and he blends the sextet well with the orchestra."

Wednesday's concert will certainly be eclectic. Besides Schober's "Split Horizon," Lockhart and the chamber orchestra will also play Zoltan Kodaly's "Summer Evening" and Mozart's Symphony No. 39 in E flat major.

The following evening, eighth blackbird will present a varied concert of chamber works, several of which were written for the ensemble.

The newest piece on the program Thursday is Jennifer Higdon's "Zaka." "We just premiered it in July," said Kaplan. She said that she likes the way the piece is written. "It uses extended instrumental techniques extensively, but the writing doesn't sound like a gimmick, though. It's very unique and exciting."

On another plane is David M. Gordon's abstract "Dramamine." "It's definitely different," Kaplan said. In the piece, Gordon calls for a prepared piano that sounds like a Javanese gamelan, and the percussionist is required to play a toy piano and tuned flower pots. "It's totally in a different world."

Another work that was recently written for eighth blackbird is George Perle's "Critical Moments 2." "This is made up of nine short movements," Kaplan explained. "The longest movement is two minutes and the shortest is only 45 seconds. These are little gems that contain some exquisite writing."

Kaplan said she is thrilled that the 89-year-old composer wrote something for them. "We're really happy that we have a piece by him. It's an honor for us."

There are two other works on Thursday's program — Steven Mackey's "Indigenous Instruments" and Chen Yi's "Qi." "Mackey creates an imaginary culture in which he envisions these 'indigenous' instruments," Kaplan said. "The piece is really funny in certain ways, and it's also interesting rhythmically."

As is the case with many of her works, Yi's "Qi," which means "force" or "energy" in Chinese, evokes Eastern sounds through Western instruments. "You can really feel that force in her music."

Besides Kaplan, eighth blackbird consists of Michael J. Maccaferri, clarinet; Molly Alicia Barth, flute; Matthew Albert, violin; Nicholas Photinos, cello; and Matthew Duvall, percussion. The group was formed in 1996 and takes its name from the eighth stanza of Wallace Stevens' poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird":

I know noble accents

And lucid, inescapable rhythms;

But I know, too,

That the blackbird is involved

In what I know.