By JOHN LENTZ

Staff Writer

The award-winning Pinecrest High School choral program will host its annual winter choral concert this weekend.

The event, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday, will feature the concert choir, the Bella Voce women's ensemble, and the Pinecrest High School Chamber Ensemble.

Both performances will be held at the Robert E. Lee auditorium at Pinecrest.

"The Chamber Ensemble recently performed for the North Carolina Music Educator's Association meeting in Winston-Salem to a standing ovation," said Pinecrest Choral Boosters Club President Bob Boone. "This weekend's performances will feature a wide variety of music, from traditional choral gems to holiday favorites."

Admission will be $5.

A silent auction will also be held to benefit the choral program's trip to the Heritage Festival of Gold in Chicago March 21-26. Earlier this year, the choirs were invited to be featured performers at the event.

"We were very honored to be asked to participate in the invitation-only Heritage Festival next spring," said Pinecrest director of choirs Erin E. Plisco in an earlier interview. "It's nice to have these opportunities to perform. We're busy, but we wouldn't have it any other way."

This past April, the Pinecrest Chamber Ensemble and Sotto Voce (now known as the Bella Voce) choirs came home with gold following performances at the Worldstrides Heritage Performance Festival in Washington, D.C.

"Both choirs received gold awards recognizing their high level of performance, with the Chamber Ensemble receiving two nearly perfect scores," said Boone. "They blew away the competition."

Boone invites everyone to the weekend performances.

"Come enjoy an evening of beautiful choral music, presented by some of the most talented students in Moore County," he said. "We are very fortunate to have one of the best high school choirs in the country right here in our backyard."

Contact John Lentz at (910) 693-2479 or jlentz@thepilot. com.