Bearden musicians preparing to perform in concert Thursday

Dozens of Bearden’s talented musicians have been preparing for months for a show in the auditorium on Thursday.

The BHS orchestra, chorus group “Bearden Singers”, and female a cappella group “B Natural” have learned new music that they will perform Thursday at 7 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at the door for $5, and ticket holders will be able to enjoy free TCBY yogurt in the cafeteria after the show.

Orchestra and Bearden Singers will perform songs that have appeared in the Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, and The Hunger Games. They will play a few songs together and others separately.

“My favorite [song] is probably “Alice’s Theme” [from Alice in Wonderland] because the orchestra is involved in that one, and they make it sound way cooler than if we just used the CD,” senior tenor Sam Phillips of Bearden Singers said.

The groups played together in last year’s winter holiday concert, but other than that, they have not combined in the past.

Blending the talents of Bearden Singers and orchestra has been a good experience for the students, but comes with some challenges.

“Just coordinating everything with the orchestra and making sure we work out the rehearsal times and all that [has been a challenge],” choral director Ms. Mary Sexton said.

Orchestra rehearses first and second period while Bearden Singers meets second period.

“The hardest thing about preparing for the concert is combining our first and second period classes of orchestra and getting us to play well as a whole,” said senior cellist Rain Binger, who also plays with the Knoxville Youth Symphony.

But the challenge is part of the fun.

“The most fun is probably recording our pieces in class,” Binger said. “It’s awesome to get to reflect and hear how we sound as a whole.”

B Natural will perform after orchestra and Bearden Singers, with songs including Queen’s “Somebody to Love”, Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun”, VV Brown’s “Shark in the Water”, and Pink’s “Glitter in the Air”.

“We’ve had a lot of time to prepare for this,” Ms. Sexton said. “It’s just the female a cappella music is really difficult.

“That’s probably been the hardest part.”

Though putting together a show takes a lot of hard work, the musicians have become close-knit groups.

“There’s a lot of newbies [this year], but they’ve adjusted really well,” Phillips said. “Everyone in the class is really helpful.

“We’re one big family.”

The choral groups are not doing any fundraising this year other than selling concert tickets. They will perform in the winter and again next spring, and the orchestra will have two more performances this year.