Rusty Banks listens to pop rather than classical music on CDs because classical music — no matter how well it’s recorded — just doesn’t sound right to him on a CD.

“There are lots of pieces I love live that I’ll never sit through CD (recordings) of them,” the classical guitarist and composer said.

That’s why when Banks composed his new work “Hydrology” he wrote one version of it for a live performance and another for an iPod.

Banks will premiere “Hydrology” Sunday at a solo concert sponsored by the New Music Agency. The iPod version can be downloaded at rustybanks.org.

Banks, in a phone interview from his Pennsylvania home, said the concert version involves live guitar, electronics and boom boxes behind the audience and a temple bell.

The iPod version is simply a stereo realization of all that, he said.

“What the stereo version loses in warmth, radiance and spatiality is made up for in clarity and portability,” he said. “Hearing one will give you an appreciation of the other.”

Banks, 31, and his wife, Christie, a former clarinetist for Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, moved a year ago to Pennsylvania, where Christie teaches at Millersville University. Banks works as a freelance musician and composer.

The couple are original members of the New Music Agency and try to get back once or twice a year to perform with the unique chamber ensemble known for presenting contemporary and esoteric works.

Banks, in particular, enjoys featuring electronics in his performances, especially boom boxes, which he likes to call “poor boy surround sound.”

“With them, I’m going for a certain sound,” he said.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.