Long considered by many a backup instrument in a band or orchestra, the tuba will get a chance to shine Thursday.

The Kansas University department of music and dance is presenting its 28th annual Tuba-EuphoniumFEST Grand Recital at 7:30 p.m. in Swarthout Recital Hall, inside KU’s Murphy Hall.

The FREE recital will include solos from both undergraduate and graduate students in the tuba-euphonium studio. The 90-minute program will include everything from Baroque to modern music.

(For the uninitiated, an euphonium looks like a smaller version of a tuba.)

Some pieces on the program include “Suite for Tuba” by Walter Hartley, “Concerto for Euphonium” by Martin Ellerby and “Sonata in F minor” by Georg Philipp Telemann.

“It is our ultimate celebration of our instruments and their capabilities,” says Scott Watson, professor of tuba and euphonium.

The performance is free and open to the public.