This weekend's concert by the University of Utah Singers and Salt Lake Choral Artists is an armchair traveler's delight, providing a musical tour of Estonia, Slovenia, Russia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. But one selection on the program might transport listeners even further afield.

Kelly Nelson, who sings with both groups, said Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's setting of the traditional Latin "Te Deum" text "seems almost otherworldly." Brady Allred, conductor of both ensembles, calls "Te Deum" a "crossover piece" that attracts classical musicians, but also speaks to fans of the New Age movement.

The Latin "Te Deum" text is a Christian poem of praise and supplication, which Pärt couches with mystical effects intended to give the words personal resonance that is unique for each listener.

Pärt's musical style for the work, which has been described as "hypnotic" and "sacred minimalism," has a timeless quality that Nelson finds "warm and chilling at the same time. Even his use of silence is very haunting. But the overall feeling that you get in listening to and performing it is one of peace."

Pärt was born in 1935 in Paide, Estonia, and now lives in Berlin. His comments on the piece, from liner notes of an ECM Records recording, say he strove to create an experience "that could be infinite in time -- out of the flow of infinity. I had to draw this music gently of silence and emptiness."

To do so, Pärt calls for an unusual combination of musical forces. A mixed choir, a men's and a women's choir interweave musical lines to the accompaniment of a string orchestra with a couple of unexpected additions. The first is a "prepared" piano -- an amplified grand piano with aluminum screws worked into its strings. "It gives an interesting color to the sound -- a little bit twangy," Allred said.

The final tone-color addition is a pair of "drone" pitches provided by a wind harp -- an outdoor instrument whose sound is generated when breezes blow across tightly stretched strings. The publisher of "Te Deum" provides a recording of the two wind-harp pitches, which are played by a sound technician on cues from the conductor.

Allred says the resulting effect is a deep, continuous pitch comparable to the sound by a 32-foot organ pipe. "You almost feel it, more than hear it," he said.

The conductor is a longtime admirer of Pärt's music and has performed this "Te Deum" setting twice with choirs in Pittsburgh. "It's such an intriguing piece to me -- Pärt's take on minimalism, and the connection to the Eastern Orthodox style of music and Gregorian chants," Allred said. "I was just really taken with the piece."

Musicians of Salt Lake Choral Artists will perform the men's and women's choir parts, with the University Singers performing as the mixed choir. Each group has been practicing separately, and the musicians won't hear the full effect of Pärt's composition until they come together for a Friday-night dress rehearsal.

Nelson, 26, knows the piece well from hearing recordings and finds it unusual and beautiful. The chance to perform newer works that she wouldn't otherwise encounter is part of the reason she makes room in her schedule for singing in two demanding choral organizations. Nelson is employed in the U.'s bioengineering department and is preparing to enter a graduate program in neuroscience. Participation in Allred's choirs gives balance to her busy life.

"My work life is totally different and not related to music at all," Nelson said. "For me, singing is a release and something that brings me a great deal of personal fulfillment."

Nelson is not intimidated by unfamiliar music, an attitude shared by her choir colleagues, she said. She hopes Saturday's audience will be similarly eager for a new musical experience.

"There is an intense amount of trust we have in our director," she said. "Because of that, we will give any piece of music a chance and come to love it in the process. That's definitely been the case with Pärt."

Otherworldly sounds

Brady Allred conducts the University of Utah Singers, Salt Lake Choral Artists and area instrumentalists in Arvo Pärt's "Te Deum" and folk music from Eastern Europe.

When » Feb. 21, 7:30 p.m.

Where » Libby Gardner Concert Hall, University of Utah campus, Salt Lake City.

Tickets » $18.75 ($12.75 students/singers). Call 801-581-7100 or visit www.kingsburyhall.org.