For some, the colliding of two musical styles can result in harmony rather than the crash of a symbol.

Senior music performance major Ian Steiner and junior music performance major Sarah Tisinger will draw two different musical worlds together with their combined junior recital at 4:10 p.m. tomorrow in Bryan Hall Theatre.

Tisinger said she started taking voice lessons at 8 years old when she was cast as the youngest Von Trapp daughter, Gretel, in a production of “The Sound of Music.” She continued studying voice and participating in theater all through school, but when it came time to choose a path to study in college, she said she went through a period of trial and error.

“I actually went to another university my first year as a theater major. While I was there I realized, this isn’t what I want at all,” she said. “I’ve been a Coug my whole life, so I decided to do what I should’ve done – come to WSU and study voice. I’ve been totally in love with it ever since.”

Tisinger’s background in theater is one of her great strengths as a vocal performer, said her instructor Julie Wieck, associate professor of voice.

“Sarah’s stage experience makes her incredibly expressive onstage,” Wieck said. “She’ll be performing four different periods and languages, and she’s able to be uniquely expressive in each style.”

Among the variety of pieces she will perform, Tisinger said her favorites are three selections by German composer Robert Schumann. The songs are a part of a romantic-era song cycle from the perspective of a young woman, something quite unique for the period in which it was written, Wieck said.

“They’re written by a man but instead of most romantic poetry, which is written from a man’s point of view, they are from a woman’s point of view,” Wieck said. “Sarah can really relate to the earlier part of the song cycle, which is about falling in love for the first time.”

For Steiner, the recital is less about context and more about mastering the skills required to play a huge variety of percussion instruments, said his instructor David Jarvis, professor of music and coordinator of percussion studies.

“The world of percussion is a lot different from being a trumpet major or a clarinet major,” Jarvis said. “A clarinet major perfects the techniques of his instrument. In our world, every percussion instrument has its own demanding technique.”

Originally from Austria, Steiner spent several years as a professional musician in Seattle before deciding to pursue his degree in music performance in 2011. For the recital, he has focused on honing various skills, particularly on the jazz vibraphone, on which he’ll perform a transcription of his very own.

“One piece I really like is an old jazz tune I transcribed myself,” Steiner said. “It’s all about listening to recordings and adding your own personal flavor.”

All involved agreed that the union of these two musical focuses is bound to open the audience up to new ideas about music and what it can be.

“I want people to come because of Ian,” Tisinger said. “He has this really alternative sound, and I think it will make for a very interesting pairing.”

Steiner said the performance will showcase a lot of the music program at WSU. Spectators who come for the vocal performance can be exposed to percussion music as well, and vice versa, he said.  

“The majority of the audience tends to go to their own area,” Steiner said. “I hope we draw a bigger crowd of people who want to see a broad scope of music.”

This event is free and open to the public.