The Longwood Wind Symphony will present a fall concert Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Jarman Auditorium of Longwood University. According to a press release, under the direction of Dr. Gordon Ring, the 50-member ensemble will perform a variety of concert band works composed in the last 75 years.

“Among the composers whose works will be performed are Clifton Williams, Vincent Persichetti, Percy Grainger and Edwin Franko Goldman,” officials said in the release. “The concert will also feature the world premiere of Dr. Ring’s ‘Symphony #77,’ a new work which was just composed this year.”

“Performing a new work is always exciting for both the band and the composer,” said Ring in the release. “We have been rehearsing it since the beginning of the semester and it is ready to be performed, but it’s always interesting to see how the audience will react.”

According to the release, a special feature of this piece is a part for the “Ring Hammer,” a large, loud, drum-like box patterned after the Mahler Hammer of composer/conductor Gustav Mahler in the early 20th century.

“I want to thank John Hogge and his crew at Jarman Auditorium for constructing this new instrument especially for this performance,” Ring said.

Admission to the concert is free and the public is invited. For more information, contact the Longwood Department of Music at (434) 395-2504.