THOUSAND OAKS, CA - Areté Vocal Ensemble will kick off its sixth season with a concert of popular American songs at California Lutheran University.

“A Tribute to the American Musical Theater and American Song” will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, in Samuelson Chapel on the Thousand Oaks campus.

The 29-member professional ensemble will sing tunes from the Broadway stage, the Great American Songbook and some of today’s leading composers. The program will include hits from many musicals including “State Fair,” “Camelot,” “Wicked” and “A Chorus Line.” Songs by Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter and Leonard Bernstein will also be featured.

Music director Wyant Morton will conduct. Jessica Helms, a Cal Lutheran alumna and accompanist for the Music Department, will play piano.

Morton founded Areté, which is based at Cal Lutheran, with the goal of performing the widest possible vocal repertoire, including works from essentially all periods of music. Special attention is given to contemporary, experimental, improvisatory, “cross-over” and ethnic music.

The ensemble, which takes its name from the Greek word for excellence, focuses on performing the new, the unknown and the unconventional with energy, passion, expertise and virtuosity. Through the combined power of words and music, an uncompromising attention to musical detail and a passion for live performance, Areté offers audiences a joyful, moving, educational and soul-nurturing experience.

Morton is director of choral activities and a professor of music at Cal Lutheran. He also maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator appearing throughout the United States and Canada.

The chapel is located at 165 Chapel Lane in Thousand Oaks. Additional parking is available at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard.

Tickets purchased online in advance are $15. Tickets purchased at the door are $20. Student tickets are $10 with ID. Admission is free for children younger than 12. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.aretevocalensemble.org.