The piece, in which each movement has a different sports theme, was inspired by his athletic family members, the sports-heavy atmosphere at Duke and comedian George Carlinâs humorous comparison of baseball and football. It was commissioned by the Ciompi Quartet, one of the nationâs leading string quartets.

"It is definitely a response to my environment," said Kelley. "Sports as the dominant culture reasserted itself."

Though the connection between classical music and sports might seem obscure, Kelley said he finds a similarity in the way that both athletes and musicians "compete against physics," whether they are propelling a ball through the air or reaching for the high note.

"Thereâs a conscious manipulation of the abstract and the representational in music," he said.

The baseball movement is in ragtime style in the form of a fugue, which has subjects entering in order. There are nine entrances, echoing the nine innings of a baseball game, and he works in a "stretch" (augmentation) at the seventh entrance.

The basketball section was inspired by Julius Erving, the basketball hero of Kelleyâs childhood. "They showed these jumps in slow motion, and he looked like he could fly," he said.

The piece reflects the fact that while great shooters share the same objective, each shows variety and finesse in his individual style, he said.

Kelley, a native of Henderson, N.C., describes himself as "a blues composer who learned how to write." In his work, he said, he strives to bring a hybrid sensibility to the music, drawing from African and African-American musical traditions as well as the classical European heritage.

With its hoppy rhythms, sports theme and ragtime aesthetic, "Sidelines" brings Kelleyâs hybrid to the audience. "This does not make people feel like theyâre seeing puffy white wigs," he said.

Kelley, a assistant professor of composition, joined the music faculty after serving as Composer-in-Residence with the Richmond Symphony for three years, where he also was instrumental in founding the Richmond Boys Choir. The Richmond Symphony premiered his piano concerto, "Africamerica," with soloist Donal Fox, and in 1998 the American Composers Orchestra gave the premier performance of a commissioned work, "The Breaks," under the direction of Gerard Schwartz.

Kelleyâs music has also been performed by the Baltimore, Detroit, Atlanta, Oakland East Bay, Marin (Calif.) and San Antonio symphony orchestras.

The Ciompi Quarter will perform "Sidelines (Reflections on Three American Sports)" as well as "String Quartet No. 4 (Amazing Grace)" by Ben Johnston and "Piano Quintet" by Alfred Schnittke at 8 p.m. Nov. 9 in Reynolds Theater in the Bryan Center on Dukeâs West Campus. Tickets are $14 for the general public and $8 for children. Duke and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students get in free.

The concert concludes Milestones 2002, a festival of concerts and conversations presented by the Departments of Music of Duke and the University of North Carolina a Chapel Hill Nov. 7-9. The festival features guest artists and composers and professional, faculty and student ensembles.

Kelley can be reached at (919) 660-3328 or by e-mail at antk@duke.edu mailto:antk@duke.edu.