The Bach Choir of Bethlehem and Bach Festival Orchestra’s annual Family Concert this year is a Youth Choirs Festival, 3 p.m. Feb. 28, Baker Hall, Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, Bethlehem.

Four youth choirs join The Bach Choir and Bach Festival Orchestra: Bel Canto Children’s Chorus of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, directed by Joy Hirokawa; Berks Youth Chorus Master Singers, directed by William Snelling; Charter Arts Touring Choir, directed by David Macbeth; and Nazareth Area High School Chorale, directed by Kelly Rocchi.

The massed youth choirs and The Bach Choir perform: Randall Thompson, “Ye shall have a song” from “The Peacable Kingdom”; G.F. Handel, “Zadok the Priest” from “Four Coronation Anthems,” and J.S. Bach, the “Gloria” from the “Mass in B Minor.”

Each youth choir is featured in an a capella selection: “It Takes a Village,” by Joan Szymko, based on the Nigerian proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” sung by Bel Canto Children’s Chorus; “Only in Sleep,” by Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds with text by Sara Teasdale, sung by Charter Arts Touring Choir; “Haitian Peze Kafé,” arranged by Sten Kallman, sung by Berks Youth Chorus, and “Magnificent Horses,” a fantasy on a Mongolian folktale arranged by Jin-ling Tam, sung by Nazareth High School Chorale.

Bach’s motet, “Lobet den Herrn” (“Praise the Lord”) will be performed by eight singers from each youth choir and eight mentor singers from The Bach Choir.

The youth choir singers took master classes from Bach Choir of Bethlehem artistic director and conductor Greg Funfgeld. “Great art is one of our precious things to give our young people. To be able to work on this music, to share it with these kids and see their excitement and how they rise up to the challenge is very gratifying,” Funfgeld said.

“Choral singing is a vital element of the human experience, unity of thought and action for the sole purpose of making our little corner of the world a more beautiful place,” said Macbeth.

“As a treble choir, this is a wonderful opportunity to sing with a full mixed voice choir,” said Hirokawa.

“The music is quite challenging and my students are putting in many hours outside of rehearsal in learning their parts,” said Kelly Rocchi.

“This festival is allowing us to reach back to BYC’s roots in classical repertoire,” said Snelling.

Tickets: Bach.org, 610-866-4382, ext. 110 or 115