Local women’s choir group Good Company will perform one of its biannual concerts Sunday night. Several of the songs during the event are based on the poem, “When I’m Old I Shall Wear Purple With a Red Hat.”

Good Company secretary and singer Laurie Hoifeldt says there are a group of women around Iowa who actually take this song and poem to heart.

“They’re called ‘The Red Hat Ladies,’ and they’re women over 50 who wear purple and red once a month,” says Hoifeldt, secretary for aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics.

“They’re thumbing their noses at convention,” says singer Kris Magel. “You shouldn’t put off what you want to do.”

The theme for this year’s show, “Women’s Work,” will feature songs for women, by women and about women, Hoifeldt says.

The evening will start off with a lively Czech song titled “Ho-ja-ja, Ho-ja-ja,” which is about women calling from mountaintop to mountaintop. This presents a special challenge for Good Company.

“We’re going to divide up into four groups around the sanctuary,” she says. “So that’s a little scary.”

Although the performance is relatively lighthearted, serious issues will also be presented through song. Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites” tells the story of nuns who were sent to the guillotine during the French Revolution.

“They agreed as a convent that they would stay together, no matter what,” Hoifeldt says.

Despite the morbid storyline, Hoifeldt has a sense of humor about this dark and heavy peace.

“We all get our heads cut off,” she jokes. “And then we put our heads back on.”

Good Company is made up of 22 women of all ages, including many ISU faculty members.

“It might be fun to come see some of your professors and what they do in their spare time,” says soprano Doris Nash, who is also the ISU costume shop supervisor.

Hoifeldt says many of the members have singing experience from their college days or from other groups.

“You kind of think once you graduate, maybe that’s it,” Hoifeldt says. “It’s just really neat to have this opportunity to sing like you did in college.”

Magel says these experienced women form a close-knit group who enjoy singing challenging music.

“I enjoy the fellowship,” Magel says. “It’s really like therapy.”

Nash has been a member of Good Company ever since the group’s formation 10 years ago. She says the group changes in size year to year, but the attitude remains the same.

“We all have different tastes, but we all love the music,” she says. “There’s become a lot more music available for women’s voices — not girls’ pop songs.”

Nash says Good Company gives performers an experience they may not be able to have in other community vocal groups.

“It’s the opportunity to sing some really challenging vocal literature,” Nash says. “Singing in the church choir is just not the same.”