After a seven-month break, Bearden Singers and members of the acapella group Off the Chain are ready to get back into the chorus room.

Without having a Bearden Singers class last semester due to a lack of male participation, the singers and choral director Ms. Mary Sexton are taking a little longer to get into the groove of things and start learning music.

Off the Chain, however, is a more experienced class with five returning seniors. The rest of the group is comprised of former Bearden Singers members.

“This is an auditioned class, so it’s a little more serious and also more fun and laid-back because we all know what’s expected of us,” junior Alyse McCamish said.

Acapella is a smaller group of 20 members, but the small number has its advantages.

“It’s a small group, so they all get to know each other really well and so it all kind of works together where the personal bonding makes the music better and the music makes the personal bonding happen,” Ms. Sexton said. “So for that amount of time that they’re singing together they become a pretty close knit group.”

Ms. Sexton is looking forward to having boys back in her musical groups after having two all girls groups last semester.

“It’s just a different sound,” Ms. Sexton said. “You get to do different types of music: more layered music because you’ve got the tenor and bass in there as well as soprano and alto, so I enjoy that.”

Bearden Singers graduated more than 30 seniors last year, and with their annual competition and Regional Festival coming up, the singers are a bit frazzled.

“I am nervous because of how many new singers we have with Festival being so close,” sophomore Tylor Sherrod said. “I am also excited because I know that we will be able to pull it off with all of the amazing talent that we have and how accepting we are of everyone’s different strengths and weaknesses.”

Bearden Singers has begun looking at one song called “Balleilakka” to perform at competition, but the other music is still undecided.

Off the Chain has already decided on “Madness” by Muse, “Counting Stars” by OneRepublic, and a mash up of “Skyfall” by Adele and Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” as a tribute to James Bond for an upcoming competition in Ohio.

Other performances to look forward to include the acapella/Bearden Singers/show choir concert on May 6, Off the Chain’s annual Coffee House on May 2, and the BHS talent show where Off the Chain will perform while judges deliberate.

The acapella group will also be visiting Bluegrass Elementary, West Valley Middle, AL Lotts Elementary, and Echo Ridge after attending the International Competition of High School Acapella on March 1.