It's obvious that a concert promises to be both colorful and exciting when the cast of performers range from the Three Little Pigs and Snow White to a talking Venus flytrap named Audrey 2.

But then you couldn't expect less from a concert with an equally interesting name: "The Fantasmagorical World of Folklore and Fairy Tales." The show, presented by the Yuma Youth Choir, will be chock full of fanciful tales from the olden days, Broadway and Disney.

"We've sort of created our own 'Into the Woods,'" said director Beth Tibbs, who described the show as an entertaining pile-up of tales, shows, musicals and movies. "We've kind of blended everything together and it's really lots of fun."

The Yuma Youth Choir concert is set for 3 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Historic Yuma Theatre. Tickets, which are $5, are being sold in advance at the Yuma Art Center and will be sold at the door prior to the show.

In addition to all the childhood favorites like "Snow White" and "Cinderella," the concert will also feature music from the current era, from shows like "Enchanted," "Into the Woods" and "Beauty and the Beast."

"The first half of the show will be fairy tales and the second half will be fantasy, which will include a medley from 'Little Shop of Horrors,'" Tibbs said. "It's going to be a great night."

The money from ticket sales will go toward the Yuma Youth Choir's next trip abroad, which Tibbs said she hopes will be 2010 trip to Italy - complete with a Vatican performance. The youth choir traveled to Europe this summer, performing in France, Belgium and Holland. Two years ago the choir flew to Germany for an invite-only festival celebrating Mozart.

Tibbs, a professor at Arizona Western College, created the Yuma Youth Choir back in 2003. She says she was alarmed by the number of local schools that were decreasing or eliminating their music programs. The choir now boasts the voices of 50 students representing schools from all over Yuma. The young performers range in age from 10 year olds to college students in their early 20s.

In addition to concerts and other fundraisers the choir also makes money for its trips through a program cooked up by Tibbs. It's called BACHH (Businesses and Choir Helping Hands). Businesses - and local residents in general - hire students to do odd jobs of all kinds. Choir members have done everything from cleaning houses to doing office work. For more information, send an e-mail to elizabeth.tibbs @azwestern.edu or call 317-6019.

Tibbs raved about the veteran students returning to the 2008-2009 choir, plus all the new voices that have joined the friendly fold.

"Oh my gosh our returning students are so strong," the choir director said. "Not only are they willing to do what I expect, they expect the same quality from themselves. They want to be good. They have developed so much."

Tibbs credited the choir's European trips for enhancing the young singers both as performers and as people in general.

"They are all so much more comfortable on stage. They have performed in Paris at Notre Dame Cathedral!" she said. "They can walk onto any stage and be confident."

The new kids are earning their share of praise, too.

"The new kids are just amazing," Tibbs said. "They just have a passion for singing and they're really dedicated. Anything I want to teach them, they're ready to learn, and that's just great."


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Darin Fenger can be reached at dfenger@yumasun.com or 539-6860.