When it comes to big performances, Director of Athletic Bands Troy Bennefield likes to ask, “How great of an achievement can we make?”

Students can find out this Thursday when Washington State University Symphonic Band and the Symphonic Wind Ensemble combine forces to put on a free performance with several unique touches.

The concert will feature three different conductors, the premiere performance of a graduate student’s original composition, and the on-campus professional debut of Bennefield.

Around half of the Symphonic Band is made up of members of the Cougar Marching Band, and it’s important to show the community that they are comfortable on a professional stage, said Dahn Pham, director of bands for WSU, and lead conductor for the performance.

“There’s a level of comfort for students to see that a lot of what we do is team building,” he said.

Students can expect to hear a lot of symphonic band classics, including ones originally written for much larger orchestras, said Chris Nelson, a grad student mastering in conducting, as well as a guest conductor in the performance.

Alongside the classics will be Nelson’s composition of the folk song “The Wayfaring Stranger,” which will be performed live for the first time at the concert.

He said the idea to write an original composition for the song has been in his mind for almost a decade since he first listened to an old woman he met on a church mission singing it.

“Folk music is evolutionary, so you kind of get to choose how you want to hear it,” Nelson said.

This is the first piece of this scale that Nelson has had performed, and he said he hopes listeners are able to pick up on the essence of what he tried to bring to the song.

“It’s about a person who’s wandering, trying to find his way home,” Nelson said, “and I tried to portray that in this piece.”

Many students will probably recognize the final conductor, Bennefield, from his role as the conductor of the Cougar Marching Band, Pham said.

This is Bennefield’s first year at WSU, and while he has conducted professional performances in the past, this will be his first on campus.

“Once I got on campus, like everyone else, I pretty much fell in love,” Bennefield said.

He will conduct four songs in the performance, including John Mackey’s “Undertow,” a fast-paced piece with an uneasy rhythm throughout.

“It never feels comfortable,” Bennefield said.

The concert begins at 8 p.m. Thursday in Bryan Hall, and is free to everyone.