The Ames Children’s Choir (ACC) will present its premier Holiday Concert this Sunday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. at the Collegiate Presbyterian Church, located at the corner of Sheldon and West Streets in Ames.

The choir will perform seasonal music by Stephen Paulus, Lowell Mason and John Rutter. They will sing folk songs in Hebrew, Spanish, Swahili and Norwegian. The choir will perform the music a cappella and accompanied with harp, flute, guitar, Orff instruments and piano. The concert is free and open to the public; donations will be accepted.

The Ames Children’s Choir was formed in September of 1995 and is comprised of 39 boys and girls from the Ames area. The choir gets financial support from a tuition fee paid by the children who participate. The Collegiate Presbyterian Churches donate their facilities for the kids to practice in.

“The churches provide a good community service. It’s a tremendous gift,” said Sylvia Munsen, ACC Founder and Artistic Director. Munsen is also an Assistant Professor of Music Education at Iowa State University.

The choir program focuses on the development of self-esteem through artistic experience including correct vocal technique, music literacy and expressive singing. Iowa State music students get hands-on experience with the training of young children’s voices.

“I enjoy working with a great group of kids. It’s fun but also a learning experience. The kids get a wide variety of songs. It helps me gain experience I can use when I’ll be a music teacher,” said Melissa Ellis, a sophomore in music who is also the assistant artistic director for the ACC.

The ACC has had four performances to date. “I’ve been pleased with the compliments the children have gotten so far,” Munsen said. “It’s been rewarding for the children. They get a taste of the reward for hard work.”

Both Munsen and Ellis have been pleased with the crowd turnout thus far. “We’ve had some pretty good sized crowds for being new,” Ellis said.

So if you’re looking for a little holiday cheer to lessen those final exam blues, come on over to the Collegiate Presbyterian Church this weekend.