An Iowan and a Hungarian have partnered to create a percussion duo showcasing the partnership of these two cultures.

Matthew Andreini, a professor at the University of Northern Iowa, teamed up with Gabor Palotas, who teaches at the Kodaly School in Kecskemet, Hungary. The duo collaborated with six different composers, three of whom are from Iowa and three of whom are from Hungary, to allow a setup of six compositions, which Andreini thought would make a “full program.”

Their most recent event took place in the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center in Davis Hall at 8 p.m. on Aug. 29. The lighting was simple, allowing the instruments and performers to be the focus of the show.

“(The concert) has a wide variety of music and I think that there’s something for everybody. Maybe not every piece is for everybody, but somebody at every venue likes something and it’s always something different,” said Andreini.

Each composer was told to aim for a specific length for their piece and what instruments would most likely be at the performers’ disposal. Besides those prior requirements they each had full rein to express themselves and reflect themselves in their piece. This was seen in Gyula Csapo’s piece “Adagietto,” which was written after his 3-year-old daughter died in a car accident. His composition used the marimba and twinkling bells to create the emotions he was trying to portray.

Many of the composers used different instruments and techniques to create a piece that would reflect themselves. Two of the Iowan composers even came to see their work come to life.

Sandy Nordahl, technical services director at the GBPAC, used a computer to amplify and delay the bell sounds in his work. He said he felt like a “proud papa” seeing his work performed. The other Iowan who attended was Matthew Coley, a professor at Iowa State University, who used a bass drum and cymbals in his piece.

The third Iowan composer, UNI graduate Jeffrey Dennis Smith, was not in attendance. Besides Csapo, there were two other Hungarian composers: Miklos Maros and Csaba Zoltan Marjan. Maros is currently living in Stockholm, Sweden, working at the Royal Academy of Music. Andreini and Palotas went to the University of Debrecen in Hungary with Marjan.

Sarah Oldre from Waterloo, who has played with Andreini before, said that it was “fun to listen for the differences (in the pieces).” She said it was hard to pick out which was Iowan and which was Hungarian.

The Iowa/Hungary Project has been in the making for a year and a half. The performers toured in Hungary and did three shows before coming to Iowa for the U.S. premiere at UNI with two more shows next week. One will be in Burlington, Iowa, and the other at Iowa State University.

“We are trying to engage a community, trying to engage a local audience (to get) involved in the project . . . to get exposure for this music. We want to have exposure of Iowan composers’ music and Hungarian composers’ music because (of the) culture of these places,” said Andreini. “Because I think that in Iowa, for example, it’s hard to find something of a Hungarian culture and to learn about that, and in Hungary it’d be hard to find something about Iowa.”