Musical groups Cantilena, Camerata, and Guys’ Gig sang a variety of American pieces yesterday in Nichols’ Auditorium during their show, “Our Home,” directed by Susan Nace.

The selections ranged from a standard chorus of the Star Spangled Banner to folk songs and fast-paced arrangements of 80’s rock. All were intended to pay homage to the US and, especially in light of Veteran’s Day on November 11, to veterans and those currently serving in America’s armed forces.

Vocal ensemble Camerata opened the show with several classic ballads including “America the Beautiful and “A Hymn to Freedom” with Nace accompanying them on the piano.

“[The theme] was a great one,” Camerata member Nathan Dalal (10) said. “I think that a lot of people, since they’re immigrants or they love their country, can really relate to what we’re singing, and I think that’s the most important part, that people can relate to what we’re singing.”

After Camerata finished its part with its rendition of “Journey Home,” solo performances from a wide variety of conservatory and certificate students began. These included piano performances from Pooja Shah (12) and Wendy Shwe (12), and vocal renderings of various show tunes, folk songs, and classical arias from Ishanya Anthapur (10), Shreya Basu (10), Caroline Howells (10), Rebecca Liu (12), Shreya Maheshwari (10), Preethi Periyakoil (11), and Nina Sabharwal (12).

Following Nina’s lyrical performance of “Willow Weep for Me,” Guys’ Gig burst onstage with three a cappella arrangements including “Good Ol’ A Cappella,” “My Girl,” and “Don’t Stop Me Now,” with Gurutam Thockchom (9) as the lead soloist for the final piece.

“We’ve been rehearsing since the beginning of school,” Guys’ Gig member Kaushik Sankar (9) said, remarking upon the amount of preparation through which the afterschool group went. “We had one or two songs practiced at the beginning, and then we practiced another song specifically for the concert.”

After the Guys’ Gig performance, all-girls choir Cantilena took the stage with performances stemming from a multitude of genres, such as formal pieces like “He’s Gone Away” and other notable folk songs. One highlight of this section was “Sing Me to Heaven,” in which Rebecca Liu (12) led the rest of the ensemble as student director.

The show concluded with “We Are…,” a composition sung by all three choruses present. During this piece, the performers as well as Nace stepped off the stage and surrounded the block of seats in the center of the auditorium. The song was recognized by several of the performers as the best of all the pieces presented.

“I really liked how we were all singing in a circle,” Cantilena member Claudia Tischler (11) said. “That was my favorite song because so many of us were singing in it together. That was really powerful.”

Many listeners were duly awed by the assorted skillsets present throughout the concert.

“[The songs] all went really well, and I’m really impressed, actually,” audience member Krishan Kumar (11) said. “This is my first vocal concert I’ve been to here and I’m really impressed by the quality of the musicianship among the vocal students here.”

The next Upper School vocal concert will be held on January 18.