Fire is hot. And aggressive. Yet it magnetizes and that’s what the Purdue Percussion Theater hopes to do with its 2012 showcase concert themed “Fire.”

The annual percussion event sponsored by Purdue Bands & Orchestras will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 15 in Loeb Playhouse of the Purdue Stewart Center.

Admission is free.

Titles on the concert program are deceptive, not necessarily reflecting the heat inside, says Pam Nave, Purdue’s percussion specialist. “Although, there is Gustav Holst’s ‘Mercury’ from “The Planets.” It’s the closest planet to the sun. It’s definitely hot.”

But all have an intensity that Nave compares to fire.

“ ‘Mass Fuerte,’ which is all drums, is loud and fast,” she says. “It’s like being in a hot desert where there’s no escape.”

“ ‘Prelude to Paradise” is the most difficult piece we’ve attempted to date. It reminds me of a blaze, like those candles you can’t blow out because they keep reigniting. The first four minutes there are notes out the wazoo. It’s a very aggressive piece,” Nave says.

The concert is entirely made up of new works for percussion including special percussion arrangements of Holst’s “Mercury” and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Dance of the Tumblers.” “I wanted to include some transcriptions of classic works. Percussionists never get the chance to play these pieces because they are not strings or winds.”

There are three original works written by Purdue students, including “Funky Drum Groove Thing with Lots of Notes” by a collaborative work by seven students, “Rhythmic Gumbo” by Dan Fronczak and “Perfect Cell Beat” by Mike Polarnakis.

Among the other tunes are “Sunlight” by jazz composer Pat Metheny, “The Big Bob Special” by Alex Orfaly and “Japanese Children’s Song” by Keiko Abe.

“Fire” is one of many free April 2012 concerts featuring groups from Purdue Bands & Orchestras.

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