The Kansas University Collegium Musicum will present “A Holiday Salad” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Bales Organ Recital Hall.

Admission is free. The same program will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 1307 Holmes, Kansas City, Mo.

The concert commemorates the 450th anniversary of the death of Matheo Flecha the Elder (1481-1553). Flecha wrote at least 10 ensaladas for the Christmas season.

The ensalada (musical salad) is a poetical work that combines lines in different languages, as well as instrumental sonatas. It is rooted in the medieval practice of singing different texts simultaneously, and incorporates well-known romances and madrigalist elements. Generally based on stories from Christ’s birth, ensaladas present a big portrait occupying a midway position between art and folk music.

The ensalada to be performed at the Collegium Musicum concert is called “La Justa,” meaning a jousting tournament, a metaphorical construct in which some of the main elements of the Christmas story are interpreted.

Collegium Musicum includes an instrumental ensemble with 14 members directed by Paul Laird, associate professor of musicology, and a choir of 13 singers directed by Greg Ramsdell, a doctoral candidate in choral conducting from Greenville, Pa.

For more information, contact Paul Laird at 864-9716.