Joyful sounds of music will soon be heard from the California Performing Arts Center.
The source of the tunes will come from members of the California High School girls choir, mixed choir and the Sounds of Joy, who are set to open the new academic year with a Fall Concert on Sept. 23.
CHS Choir Director Michele Bilyeu said there will be no definite theme to the concert this time around, but "it is just a nice mixture of styles."
One song in particular may sound familiar to the audience. The song in question is none other than the traditional spiritual "Dry Bones." Another song to be performed by the choral group will be a folk song that ties in body percussion.
For senior Breanna Roberts, this concert is the beginning of the end.
"I'm excited for this concert," Roberts said. "But I know this will be one of the last times I'm preparing for a concert. It won't hit me until the spring concert that this is the end.
"We always do senior recognition night for that concert, and that's when I know I'll feel a little sad. I'll be thinking of all the concerts I've done in high school."
While one door starts to close, another opens for freshman Lizzy Shewmake. This concert marks her first in a new environment.
"I sang in choir when I was in middle school, but this will be my first as a high schooler," Shewmake said. "I'm a little nervous, but we're doing a lot of different songs."
The repertoire California will hear is a wide one, a feature Bilyeu managed on purpose.
"For the first concert of the year, I try and have a nice mixture of types of music, because it is a new group and we are still getting settled into voice parts and sections," she said.
The CHS Fall Choir Concert will be held 2 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Performing Arts Center. Following this concert, the California Middle School Pinto Express will perform under the direction of Erika DeMoss at 4 p.m.
The next choral event from CHS is the Broadway musical "Mary Poppins" to be performed Nov. 10-11. The Choral Christmas Concert will be Dec. 16.