"We've wanted for a while to make a program that was focusing on the Northwest," he said. "We're a large region here in Northwest, from Seattle to Canada, but also this large region has a geographical connection that's connected by the occasional shakeup."

Performances, including four world and six Alaska premieres, were selected with the shakeup theme in mind, although the music remains accessible to general listeners, organizers said. The Quake Ensemble, for instance, features a violinist who is a founding member of the Kronos Quartet, which has a long history of revolutionizing string music in multiple genres.

"Fault Lines" concerts by the Quake Ensemble and SitkaSound on Friday, Saturday and Sunday feature seven performances, including the four world premieres, ranging from solo to nine-member ensembles. Monday's show is a recital by the Quake Ensemble, featuring five Alaska premiers.

The largest performance during the "Fault Lines" concerts will be the world premiere of "CrossSound Fable" by Seattle operatic and experimental composer Garrett Fisher, with three Sitka musicians joining the Quake Ensemble.

"I seek a balance between structure and freedom in order to give the ensemble solid grounding while at the same time enough 'open space' to individualize the role," Fisher wrote in a description of the composition. "I combine both specific notation as well as aleatoric 'ragas,' inspired by the Indian classical tradition."

Two premieres are by Palmer resident Philip Munger, a teacher and trombonist at the University of Alaska Anchorage. "Shards II," featuring an eight-member ensemble, is described as "a fantasy on 'Taps'...(that) attempts to bring a human element up against the ongoing momentum toward robotization of our military." "Nice Work Kid. Don't Come Back!" is a sextet piece Munger said is based on his most memorable Alaska earthquake experience.

The other world premier, "Sakalaka" by Owen Underhill of Vancouver, British Columbia, is described as a "playful reordering of letters used in Alaska" intended to embrace the spirit of the unknown.

There have been about a dozen similar CrossSound concerts with varying themes since 1999, with the biggest reward being the wide range of performers and compositions that result, organizers said. This year's participants include longtime local veterans, two students from Sitka and guest conductor Underhill.

"It's just something that's very rooted here in the community, but global in scope," said Jocelyn Clark, executive director of CrossSound. "The pieces are at least taking in who we are and what we are, even if it's just an imagined place for them. Then they get here and there's the exchange."

The emphasis on bringing a global scope to Southeast Alaska works in reverse, as the CrossSound series has been written about in Asia and Europe, Hakenberg said. He said it's "put Southeast Alaska, and even all of Alaska, on the map of contemporary music," but the reaction of locals remains what's most satisfying.

"The quietness of the audience here, the attention they give these pieces, is what makes it wonderful for me," he said.