EVANSTON — The Evanston Civic Orchestra and Chorus fall concert, “My Song in the Night,” offered a little something for everyone, and those in attendance did not leave disappointed. 

The performance was billed as “a musical journey of faith, fun, and the fantastic,” which proved an apt description. 

The Evanston Men’s Chorus kicked off the evening with a trio of tunes from a variety of musical genres, including a particularly humorous selection entitled “We May Not Be Vampires (But We’re Still Men!),” for which director Nate Baxter said, “If any of you are ‘Twilight’ fans, I’m sorry.” 

The men’s chorus ended their segment with a barbershop rendition of “Coney Island Baby/We All Fall.” Baxter said his dream is to get a large traditional barbershop group together of about 50 men to compete in 2019 at the International Barbershop competition in Salt Lake City. 

The Evanston Women’s Chorus then took the stage with their trio of songs. The women’s selections included folk tunes and an African-American spiritual song, “Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit.” 

The women’s opener was a moving rendition of the English folk tune, “Scarborough Fair,” featuring a duet by Bethany Jones and Erinne Beachler. 

The men and women then combined to perform under the direction of Crystal Roskelley-Delgado for another trio of selections, including one of the highlights of the evening, “Daemon Irrepit Callidus,” sung entirely in Latin. 

Baxter and Roskelley-Delgado swapped directing duties, and Baxter led the group in a spirited take on “Jabberwocky” from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland tales. Orchestra members joined in to provide percussion.

Conductor Nick Harker led the Evanston Civic Orchestra through the second portion of the concert. The orchestral performance included a rousing opener, “In the Hall of the Mountain King, Peer Gynt Suite.” 

The tempo of the evening slowed down a bit as the orchestra performed two other selections, including a piece from “Carmen.” Harker said that while “Carmen” itself takes a turn to the tragic, the “Intermezzo, Carmen Suite No. 1” the orchestra shared was from the love and romance portion. 

The orchestra closed their set with an easily recognizable tune for any movie fan, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” 

The orchestra and chorus then joined forces to close the evening with the title song of the evening, “My Song in the Night.” Baxter said the song was a “reference to the struggles we go through and the peace that can often be found in those struggles.” “It’s a special song to us,” said Baxter.

Roskelley said the group was looking forward to the Christmas concert in conjunction with the 6th biennial Community Christmas Gala, on Dec. 1, at Davis Middle School.

If this fall concert was any indication, the remainder of the Evanston Civic Orchestra and Chorus season will provide entertainment from talented local performers hailing from Evanston, the Bridger Valley, Kemmerer, and even Park City. Those who venture out to attend the free performances will undoubtedly be impressed.