The Beatles looked to Karlheinz Stockhausen for inspiration, Frank Zappa idolized Edgar Varese, and the Grateful Dead fund contemporary composers through their Rex Foundation. The history of experimental rock includes many fruitful interactions with contemporary concert music, so maybe it’s not such a surprise that several local prog bands are joining together for a concert benefiting Pitt’s Music on the Edge series. The brainchild of guitarist and Pitt grad Adam Rauf, the concert will feature Rauf’s band Kalon, The Binge Mechanisms, andNatura Nasa. All three bands have highly distinctive styles, yet share an affinity for sprawling instrumentals and dense, multi-layered textures.

The concert itself will celebrate the permeability of genres with works by Pitt composers and performers interspersed between the main sets. Eric Moe and Philip Thompson will project electroacoustic compositions, composer/violinist Roger Zahab will perform Moe’s Flex Time as well as his own work, and the Bugallo-Williams Piano Duo will perform Steve Reich’s famous Piano Phase on electronic instruments with live re-mixing by David Hidek. Given the eclectic mix of performers and composers, the concert may turn out to be one of most unusual programs taking place in Pittsburgh this year.

The Music on the Edge Benefit takes place on Saturday, October 7, 2006 at 7 p.m. in Pitt’s Bellefield Hall Auditorium (315 S. Bellefield Ave., across from Heinz Chapel). Admission is $5 (available at the door only). Come out and support Music on the Edge!