Music will be filling the auditorium the first week in December when the Performing Arts Dept. presents four holiday performances.

The band will lead off with a concert on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. with orchestra following on Dec. 5 also at 7 p.m. The holiday choir concert will take place Thursday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. All three concerts are free.

Theater and orchestra students will join forces on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. to present “It’s a Wonderful Life,” as a radio show. Tickets will be $10.

“It’s a Wonderful Life” is a joint project between the Repertory and Advanced Repertory theatre classes and the orchestra,” David Hastings, director, said.

Greg Ferguson, orchestra director, said that in preparation for the orchestra holiday concert, his group will have “daily class rehearsal and practice, and then some outside class rehearsal as well.”

Chad Coughlin, band director, believes that the band’s holiday concert is like a summative assessment for his group. “So we’re building everything that we’re are doing to this concert,” he said.

Elise Peterson, choir director, said people should attend the holiday concerts because “people are kind of busy, and busy, and more busy, and this gives them a chance to let down and enjoy the music.”

“It’s a Wonderful Life” will be a radio show complete with sound effects done by sound effects guys.

“There will be five microphones out at the front— right at the front of the stage— and the actors will read their lines standing at the microphones, and behind them will be the orchestra, and behind the orchestra will be a series of platforms, and on those platforms will be all kinds of bizarre sounds effects, so they will be making the sound effects live on stage, behind the orchestra,” Hastings said.

The show will alternate between the orchestra, the script and commercials.

“So [the show will] start with the orchestra, then there’ll be introductions in the script, and then there’ll a commercial, [and so on],” Hastings said.

Ferguson believes that by attending these performances people will be highly entertained. “It’s impressive what our students are able to accomplish, and I think that sometimes our student body isn’t able to appreciate that until they attend one of these, then there’s surprise” said Ferguson.