Marimba players from all over the world are in the Twin Cities for the Marimba 2010 International Festival and Conference. Some of the music comes local composers. In the first of two Eggs related to the festival, 3-Minute Egg brings you to the Cathedral of St. Paul to hear marimba music paired with the Vocalessence choir in a new piece composed by St. Paul’s Stephen Paulus. The public performance is 8 pm today at the cathedral. On Monday, we’ll bring you to the Southern Theater to hear So Percussion perform new work by Minneapolis composer Mary Ellen Childs.

James Sewell Ballet, the male choir Cantus and composer Mary Ellen Childs have collaborated on new work, titled Air — on stage this weekend as part of a larger Sewell Ballet program at The O’Shaughnessy. 3-Minute Egg went to Wednesday’s run-through and talked with the three masterminds behind this engaging premiere.

Lorant Andaházy and Anna Andrianova Andaházy founded Andaházy Ballet, in St. Paul, in 1947. St. Paul City Ballet and has since thrived in the space in the Mac-Groveland neighborhood, but only a few years ago did the school expand into a full performance company. Jennifer Rockwell and Ross Edwards, a married couple who make up half the company’s artistic leaders, have set new work on the troupe for its program this weekend at the Ritz Theatre. 3-Minute Egg meets the pair at a rehearsal.

Dave King is the Twin Cities’ most musical drummer and at the center of the Twin Cities’ avant garde jazz scene. This weekend the Walker Art Center is giving you double doses of King — nearly every band or project he performs with will be on stage. 3-Minute Egg is taking you somewhere the Walker won’t — inside King’s car, along with his rehearsal studio, as his newest group (featuring former Husker Du bassist Greg Norton) prepares a song for the concert.

Wing Young Huie made his mark in the 1990s with his groundbreaking photo documentary of St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood. Several years later, he took on the entirety of Minneapolis’ Lake Street. Now he’s winding up his work on a six-mile stretch of University Avenue. Wing gives 3-Minute Egg a preview and invites the Egg along on a shoot at a small business along University. Wing is opening his studio to the public from noon to 10 pm Saturday to showcase his University Avenue Project photos for a preview sale. The exhibition goes up to the broader public in May along storefronts, the sides of buildings and giant projection screens along University.

Dessa Darling has evolved from slam poet to essayist to rapper and singer. Her new CD, A Badly Broken Code, is a tuneful mix of rap, R&B and poetic musings. 3-Minute Egg peeks into a rehearsal for Dessa’s CD release show Friday at the Fine Line. Members of Heiruspecs make up her backing band.

Howard Hamilton and Laura Bennett connected over mutual admiration for each others’ visual art, but the two have made a larger splash through their music. The duo, known as the Red Pens, performed last weekend at First Avenue through Radio K’s showcase of the “best bands of 2009.” 3-Minute Egg was in the front row, in the wings, in the balcony, and also in the couple’s basement apartment, where Hamilton and Bennett store much of their visual art.

The warmest opening day in the history of the Art Shanty Projects inspired a record number of people to trek onto a frozen Medicine Lake this past Saturday to check out the hangouts and hovels built by artists, architects, students and others. 3-Minute Egg gives you a glimpse at many of them. There’s Shanty programming every weekend through February 7.