Illinois Valley Youth Choir to perform May 4 in La Salle

The Illinois Valley Youth Choir will be hosting a public concert at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 4, in the Matthiessen Auditorium at La Salle-Peru High School.

Admission is $5. Seniors and kindergarten through 12th-grade students are $4, and pre-kindergarten and younger children are free. The auditorium is handicapped accessible.

On what is known as Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you), the IV Youth Choir will celebrate outer space with songs such as “Shooting Star,” “The Path to the Moon” and “Ode to Pluto,” along with several themes from the “Star Wars” movies. There will be a special guest appearance. A cookie reception will follow the performance.

The Illinois Valley Youth Choir was established in 1981 as an outlet for talented children in the Illinois Valley area. Weekly rehearsals emphasize the development of musicianship and vocal technique while performing high-quality musical literature. Children develop healthy vocal habits, confidence, self-discipline and a deeper understanding of music. The tuition-based choir is open to boys and girls in third through eighth grades. Boys must have unchanged voices. Scholarships are available.

Current members are Everley Barr, Brynlen Bock, Abby Brown, Maddox Chaon, Izydora Clarner, Greta Conroy, Cora Dempsey, Jacie Dobberstein, Olivia Frank, Taeden Freschi, Marielle Grivetti, Anastasia Grubar, Michael Longbein, Kennedy McCollom, Liv McGann, Aaleeyah Meadows, Morgan Moutray, Juliet Newell, Tessa Neurohr, Mara Ohlendorf, Aria Olson, Lydia Pinter, Cora Roether, Reuben Roether, Ellyn Schmidt, Carson Testa, Johan Theisinger and Vada Walton. The choir is directed by Jenilyn Roether and accompanied on piano by Matt Makeever.