AURORA - Over the course of the past weekend, friends and family of students at Wells College were welcomed with open arms.

During the friends and family weekend, guests were treated to the opportunity to meet with faculty and see various student activities and projects.

For the special weekend, the Wells College Choral Ensembles were among the groups of students that gathered to showcase their skills for guests in the Barler Recital hall.

Crawford R. Thoburn, professor of music and conductor of the ensembles, said that the choral groups have been working since the beginning of the semester, preparing for the performance. Thoburn said that among many college choral ensembles, Wells offers a unique program for its performers.

“We are unique,” Thoburn said. “Most colleges have men's and women's and mixed. But here when we are working on things with the men we are also working on what we do with the women and with the women we work on what we are doing with the men. It is a bit unusual.”

Thoburn said that since the school made the transition to a coed facility, he has been working to integrate male vocal performers into the overall program, again something that is unique at Wells.

“This gives the men the opportunity to sing,” Thoburn said. “There are few men's ensembles these days at the high school level. There are mostly women's and mixed and this gives the men the opportunity.”

The evening began with a series of selections for the women's ensemble, including pieces by composers such as Christopher Tye and John Carter.

The program then moved on to the mens ensemble, which performed two pieces in German, “Singt dem Herrn” by Michael Praetorius and Derr Herr Segne Euch“ by Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as the traditional spiritual ”De Animals A-Comin'“.

With two different groups, Thoburn strives to find pieces that will fit their respective voices and styles.

“Each choir has its own personality,” Thoburn said. “I try to adjust to that and find pieces that fit with the group that we have that year.”

After each group had performed individually, the two choral groups gathered to perform as one unified concert choir, performing pieces by composers such as Bach and Brahms, as well as traditional English and Czech folk pieces.

“I try to introduce the students to a wide variety of styles,” Thoburn said. “This gives them the chance to develop their voices. Singing is something that they can do for the rest of their lives and take with them if they learn to do it properly.”

Thoburn said that overall he was pleased with the entire performance and believes it went over well with those in attendance.

“I think we had some really good moments,” Thoburn said. “I think they did very well and I think everyone really seemed to enjoy it. I'm quite happy.”