NASHUA – With the chance to display their skills and passion for music with family, friends and the community, North Main Music students will be taking part in the school’s 17th student concert.

The school will be showcasing the students’ talents at 9 a.m. Sunday at Elm Street Middle School’s Keefe Auditorium, where famous acts – such as Billy Joel and the Indigo Girls – have at one time graced the stage.

During the concert, friends, family, students and teachers, along with members of the community will have the opportunity to see a wide variety of musical acts which will include solo performances from students ranging from age 6-70 years old, as well as their instructors.

“Playing at the Keefe, it’s a bigger stage,” North Main Music Director and Founder Mike McAdam said.

“It’s a big opportunity for the kids to perform there. How you perform in a smaller venue is different than how you perform in a bigger venue,” he continued while talking about Nashua’s largest indoor performance venue, “to play in a large venue like that really ups the ante. For them to take on the challenge and do that, it’s a great opportunity.”

Not only will the audience see solo acts, but the show will also include performances from several of the school’s bands, including Aquatoxic, Scorpius, Some Kind of Anxiety and Selective Mutes.

With different kinds of music, from rock ‘n’ roll, pop, and country to classical and jazz, the concert will bring a wide variety of music to the Keefe, harkening to the many other music acts that have made their way through the venue.

Students and teachers involved in the upcoming show share in an excitement to play on stage at the Keefe. Miriam Alex, a vocal student, said she is looking forward to showing off what she has learned in the last four years of classes.

“I’m really excited because I really like the song that I have picked,” Alex said. She has been working on her performance of Florence and the Machine’s The Dog Days are Over. “This song kind of showcases a lot of what I learned and a lot of the technique that I have learned in class.”

With the chance to play at Keefe, Alex said she embraces the opportunity to get up on a larger stage in front of a big crowd, despite some initial nerves.

“It’s nice going from like a smaller venue to a larger venue because you see more people; you get more experience on stage, which makes me more comfortable and confident after I get off stage,” she said.

Alex’s teacher Sue Blaunsby, who is a piano and vocal instructor at the school, echoed her student’s excitement for the spring concert, noting the school features many talented students and teachers who will bring a diverse selection of music to the Keefe.

“Well, the school has many different teachers who have many different styles. I think different genres bring out many different feelings for people,” Blaunsby said. “You’ll hear classical, you’ll hear blues and jazz, you’ll hear pop songs.”

“I have a student singing an old Nat King Cole song,” she said of one specific performers choice in song.

The school’s teen acapella group, Fever Pitch, will also be performing, showing off their vocal skills through renditions of songs such as Happy by Pharrell Williams.

“There will be a lot of different styles because we have a lot of students who are into different music,” McAdam said. “It’s really an opportunity for them to perform with their parents, grandparents and their families.”

With the growing number of students and programs offered, McAdams said the school had to push the start time of the concert up by four hours from its original start time.

“When we first started this in 2010, we started at around 1 p.m.,” he said. “We would probably have 40 performers play and do it in four hours.”

Members in the community can get tickets, which are $40 per family, at the school’s website www.NorthMainMusic.com, or by calling the school at 603-505-4282.

Mathew Plamondon can be reached at 594-1244, or at mplamondon@nashuatelegraph.com.

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