The Good Company and Achieving Maximum Potential stand side by side, harmonizing not only with each other’s voices but with the problems they may face every day. They encourage everyone to be as open as the groups are when they sing.

The Good Company and the AMP, Achieving Maximum Potential, girls perform “My Love and I” at 7 p.m. Sunday at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Ames.

The Good Company is an all-women’s, auditioned choir that was formed in 1993 by Andy North.

“One of the founding members, Andy North, had been in a choir like this before. She came to Ames and she was missing it, so she asked if there was interest and there was,” said Laurie Hoifeldt, singer and wife of director Steven Hoifeldt.

Laurie is also a part of Ames Choral Society, which is a men and women choir, but according to Laurie, she thinks there is more responsibility to being a part of The Good Company, since it is an auditioned group.

“I have never been in just a women’s choir. The sound is different and I like the variety of music that’s available. We do a wide variety — renaissance, medieval, super contemporary odd things, jazz [and] Broadway — there’s quite a range,” Hoifeldt said.

Part of The Good Company’s mission is to get the community involved.

Ellen Rasmussen is the president of the board for The Good Company, and she was the one who approached the AMP girls a part of Youth and Shelter Services, YSS, about having a group of girls volunteer to be a part of their performance if they had an interest in singing.

The AMP program is a youth driven group centered around helping foster and adoptive children in Iowa get involved with leadership, service and speaking opportunities to become independent adults.

“I had the idea because [I have] some personal experience with YSS, Youth and Shelter Services, to get a hold of them and see if there was [a] way we could connect with some of the girls who are receiving services from them,” Rasmussen said. “Their director, George Belitsos, put me in touch with Ruth [Buckels] who runs the statewide program.”

The members of The Good Company volunteered to sing with the AMP program.

“They [AMP program] were the ones that picked this particular group. We simply went to them and said we really want to reach out to young girls, young women because we think there is a lot of power in music, there’s a lot of power of healing in music, it can build self-confidence, it can build self-esteem,” Rasmussen said.

I guess the way we thought about is if we could help these girls understand that they could do something that they haven’t ever thought that they could do, that might translate into some other part of their life.”

Together, The Good Company and the AMP girls share notes on the page, but also enjoy the time spent together.

“The range of their personalities, how kind they are, how caring their feedback is and just the way that they approach you about the way that you’re singing is something that’s really noticeable about them [The Good Company],” said a member of the AMP program. YSS wished not to release her name because she is underage. 

The AMP girls will sing two songs with The Good Company, and the rest of the performance will only be the members of The Good Company.

“There probably isn’t a way for me to explain to these girls that come how much we appreciate it that they come. It gives us a different sound, it helps to teach and that feels good,” Rasmussen said.

The Good Company is not only inviting a diverse group of youth to perform with them, the members themselves have different backgrounds.

“People are here because they love to sing. We have a couple of retired music teachers, a physician, a retired attorney, a communications director, a medical assistant, an engineer and I do administrative work at Iowa State,” Rasmussen said.

A point proven, no matter a person’s background or experiences they have gone through, joining together causes a bond that was sparked by something all of the singers enjoy — singing.

Tickets are $10 in advance at Gallery 319 in Ames or from a Good Company member. Tickets are $12 at the door.