The Ames Choral Society will be hosting their 48 annual holiday concert, “Light in the Darkness,” at 3 p.m. Sunday at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church.

An organization founded in 1964, the Ames Choral Society has annual concerts during the holidays and spring, as well as starting to perform during the Fourth of July in recent years. The 60 member choir consists of members of the public, high school and from the Ames community and surrounding areas. Included in the choir are Iowa State students, faculty and staff. Meeting on Mondays weekly, they rehearse from 7:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. at St. Andrews.

The choir will be singing a variety of holiday music from different eras including classics to contemporary pieces. Some pieces that will be performed include “Jubilate Deo” by the 16th century German composer Hans Leo Hassler, Eric Whitacre’s “Lux Aurumque,” two Hanukkah songs sung in Hebrew and “Imagine” by John Lennon. The audience will also be invited to join in singing seasonal carols with the choir.

The choir is under the direction of DMACC Boone choral professor Steven Hoifeldt, who has been with them for going on 31 years as a director. Hoifeldt chose the music for the concert for specific reasons.

“I was looking for music that related to light, the theme of our concert,” Hoifeldt said. “This is a broader range of music than we’ve done for a holiday concert.”

Paul Hertz, president of the Ames Choral Society and known in Ames as a member of local folk/dance/rock band Mumford’s, looks forward to the concert for a several reasons,

“I like the fact we are singing in a variety of languages for this concert,” Hertz said.

The languages will include Engliish, Hebrew, Slavic, German and Latin.

“I think a lot of people who enjoy choral music will love this concert,” Hertz said.

Tickets for the concert will be sold at the door for $10 at St. Andrews before the concert begins. For more information about the concert or the Ames Choral Society, go to their website.