Baker University Orchestra’s first concert of the year will be a little different this year.

This year, the orchestra will be performing “Carnival of the Animals” by C. Saint-Saens.

“Carnival of the Animals” is a humorous zoological suite that portrays 14 sounds of animals.

The first piece is about lions, followed by a piece about elephants.

“The music is much more lighthearted and fun to play,” sophomore Rachel Van Winkle said. “Just by listening to the music you can imagine it.”

The concert will open with one of Mozart’s most famous compositions, the first movement of “Eine Kleine Nachmusik.”

Seniors Judy Erpelding and Adrienne Barclay, with senior Kyle Detrick on string base, will also perform “Romance” from Claude Bolling’s Suite for Jazz Violin and Piano.

“This piece will be fun,” Detrick said. “I am following Judy and Adrienne in the piece on the upright base. It is basically a string jazz trio.”

Detrick said the trio has been working on the piece for the past four weeks and Erpelding and Barclay will be playing it at their senior recital.

Lori McKinney, instructor of music and orchestra conductor, hopes  to see more families attend the concert.

The concert will be in McKibbin Recital Hall, which is a much smaller venue than the students are used to.

“It will be a smaller performing space than normal, which will be nice because we, the audience, will be able to see the performers’ faces and sit close to them,” McKinney said.

McKinney is excited about the concert after the recent orchestra trip to various high schools in the state.

“We just got back from our trip, which was very successful,” McKinney said. “We visited a few high schools to perform and then went to Lindsborg to perform in (its) festival, which is actually my hometown.”

Van Winkle said the trip was not only a good way to showcase the pieces they have been working on, but it also allowed her to become closer to the other members in the orchestra.

“I just transferred here and I feel more comfortable a part of this orchestra already than I did in my last orchestra, which I was a part of for a year,” Van Winkle said.

During the festival, the students performed outside, but also went on their own and did a few impromptu performances.

“We were all able to see each others’ personalities during the trip, especially during the festival when we were just hanging out or performing for fun,” Van Winkle said.

McKinney said, during the trip she noticed how well the students in the orchestra were mixing together.

She thought the students at the high schools noticed how well the members got along as well.

“I think that with the orchestra being so close, it makes all of our performances even better,” McKinney said.

The concert will begin at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in McKibbin Recital Hall and will be open for anyone to attend.