The Jamestown High School Madrigal Singers will perform more than 20 times during the month of December.
One of those concerts will be in front of a much larger crowd than the others, however.
The group has been preparing for a month to join Kenny Rogers on stage Friday at the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena. The upcoming event will be unlike any other they have had in past, group members said.
''I just think it's going to be a great experience,'' said senior Travis Holtz. ''Kenny Rogers, standing right there on stage singing with him - to me, it's going to be one of the best things I will experience in my life.''
The Rogers performance comes during the busiest time of year for the Madrigals, director Norm Lydell said. The concert gives the group, though, a chance to perform in front of a new - and large - audience.
''I don't think a lot of people really know what this group is about, and this is really good way to represent this group,'' said senior Andy Liuzzo. ''I don't think a lot of people know that we audition twice and that we like doing things like this.''
Each member of the Madrigal Singers must first audition for the A Cappella choir. Once in A Cappella, singers have the option of auditioning again for a role in the Madrigals. About 30 singers compose the group.
The JHS Madrigal Singers were contacted by Kenny Rogers' management on a recommendation from Catholic Academy of the Holy Family, Lydell said.
''Through this, they reach out to Catholic schools, because they are performing sacred music and many school districts can't perform that music,'' he said.
Lydell said that the Holy Family staff assured Rogers' staff that the JHS Madrigal Singers would be appropriate for the job, which led to the management contacting him. Despite his group's busy schedule, the director did not pass on the opportunity.
''For us, it's the busiest time that we have all year long,'' Lydell said. ''We sing for civic organizations, the Rotary, groups that gather at the Marvin House, the Robert H. Jackson Center, Kiwanis ... as it is, on Friday, we are performing in two other places during the day.''
The A Cappella choir is also preparing for its annual Vespers concert, to be held Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at First Lutheran Church. The group will also be performing with the alumni choir the following Sunday, Dec. 20, at 12:30 at the church. Lydell said the group's alumni perform once every five years.
Any former members of the A Cappella choir interested in joining the alumni choir are asked to call 483-4248 or visit www.jhsacappella.com. Lydell said all alumni who are registered are invited to attend a rehearsal the day of the Vespers concert and take part in the event.
''There are some songs that are standard for the repertoire of the A Cappella choir, and essentially that's what we'll be performing,'' he said. ''We've had over 200 register as alumni. ... I've had people contact me who are in their 80s.''
Before the Vespers concerts, however, the Madrigal Singers will have their evening on the big stage in the JSBIA. The group will join Rogers for a medley of songs near the end of the concert. Cody Lassinger, president of the A Cappella choir, said the event will be magical for everyone involved - both on stage and off.
''This isn't just a big experience for us as the Madrigal Singers - this is a great moment for our hometown audience,'' Lassinger said. ''They'll be getting to see us as their children and their future, performing with a performer of this magnitude. I think they'll really enjoy seeing their own up there.''
