The traditional sounds of chimes, orchestra and chorus will accompany the pageantry surrounding inauguration ceremonies for David Skorton -- as well as jazz, steel drums, Latin, klezmer and electronic music.

The inauguration will be preceded at 2:40 p.m. by a 15-minute Cornell Chimes concert atop McGraw Tower. The ceremony itself begins when the chimes toll the hour at 3 p.m. (in case of rain, the recorded chimes will be heard in Barton Hall), followed by the reading of a poem by Alice Fulton, the Ann S. Bowers Professor of English.

During the academic processional from Ho Plaza to the Arts Quad, Spencer Topel, a graduate student in Cornell's Department of Music, will perform his electronic music composition "Automata" on the Arts Quad.

"A major theme for the show is integration -- combining the familiar with the new," said Topel, who has undergraduate and graduate degrees from The Juilliard School of Music. "The president has some bold ideas about how he wants to present himself to the Cornell community. [He] wanted to show that Cornell would be moving in a new direction and to promote the idea of interdisciplinary work and the diversity of the campus."

M.J. Herson '68, a consultant working with the Inaugural Committee, said Topel uses logarithms to process traditional sounds into something new.

"The direction I wanted to go in was mystical/spiritual, and also have some of the humor of the campus," Topel said. "For instance, for all the construction going on, I have these machine sounds."

The music will originate on a Macintosh Powerbook and play through a large quadraphonic speaker system on the Arts Quad. "It's more like a sound installation," he said. "I've never done anything quite like this on this scale before."

Topel has written music for modern dance, ballet and theater, and his original compositions have been performed in cities nationwide as well as in Tokyo and Jerusalem.

The Cornell University Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Cynthia Johnston Turner, will perform preludes and fanfares as the president enters the Quad just before the 3:30 p.m. installation ceremony.

(Skorton, a jazz saxophonist, is not scheduled to perform during the inauguration events, but he will make his Ithaca musical debut with CU Winds and other Cornell ensembles on Oct. 21, during Cornell Family Weekend.)

After Skorton's inaugural address, the Cornell Glee Club and the Cornell Chorus will sing the alma mater and the Cornell Steel Band will provide upbeat exit music for the recessional.

Then the real party starts. A post-inaugural reception on the Arts Quad will feature klezmer and Latin jazz music, and performances by the Absolute Zero breakdance squad, Cornell Bhangra Indian dancers and the Sabor Latino dance group.

Simon Shaheen, a virtuoso oud player and violinist, and his ensemble will perform a special inaugural concert at 9 p.m. in Cornell's newly renovated Bailey Hall. Tickets are available to the public on a first-come basis at the Day Hall information desk.

Shaheen's music combines Arabic, Middle Eastern and Western jazz and classical forms; he has performed with Sting at the Grammy Awards and is featured on the soundtracks of such films as Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" and Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Sheltering Sky."