The community is invited to a Holiday and Opening Concert by the Sequim Community Orchestra at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave.

Featured will be the String Kids Academy under new director/instructor Teresa Bjornes.

Admission is by donation and a bake sale follows the concert.

The beginning, intermediate and advanced classes will each perform several short pieces to display their new skills, including Robert Schumann’s “Choral” and “O Mio Babbino Caro” by Puccini.

Under the direction of Phil Morgan-Ellis, the Sequim Community Orchestra will then perform Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” and the holiday classic “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

The two groups unite to render a version of “Silent Night.”

The String Kids Academy is an after-school string program offered to Sequim School District students. They can progress through beginning, intermediate and advanced classes and have the chance to enter the Sequim Youth Orchestra.

The Sequim Community Orchestra was the recipient of a $3,000 grant this year from the Beta Nu Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society, International, specifically to fund the program. This support provides the opportunity for children to learn basic music, string ensemble and orchestral music participation that is not available in their schools.

Money raised from the Sequim Community Orchestra concerts throughout the year also go towards the youth strings program.

By fostering music education and appreciation, it is hoped that the youth become future members of local orchestras and continue to provide the community with arts and culture, orchestra members say.