The community music season at Chadron State College begins Thursday evening with the first rehearsal of the Chadron Community Choir.   The Chadron Community Band will follow with its first rehearsal next Tuesday, Jan 22. Rehearsals for both groups are 7-9 p.m. in Memorial Hall.

The Community Chorus will have 11 rehearsals before its spring concert on Sunday April 7. Director Dr Una Taylor says the music will include what she calls “beautiful settings” of “The Prayer of Saint Francis” and the Robert Burns poem “The Banks of O’ Doon.”

The April concert will also includ a stirring spiritual called “Heaven,” which features the bass section, a moving piece called “Here’s to Song,” and a pair of “fun” pieces — the 16th century madrigal “Matona, Mia Cara” and “Dance a Cachuca, Fandango, Bolero” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Gondoliers.”

Return for their second semester sharing the directing of the Community Band are Dr. Sidney Shuler and his wife, Pamela, who had their first child just before Christmas. Selections they’ve picked for the spring in First Suite in E-Flat by Gustav Holst and Eric Whitacre’s “Ghost Train.”

Pamela Shuler is encouraging any are resident who might like to get back into playing an instrument to join the group, “no matter how long it’s been” since they last played.

There is a $20 fee for the groups, with registration materials available at the first rehearsal of each. For more information, email Shuler or Taylor at [email protected] or Taylor at [email protected].