It must be spring.

The azaleas are blooming, the birds are chirping, and the Beaufort County Choral Society is singing.

The society invites you to “Sing Into Spring.”

This spring concert is slated for 5 p.m. May 1 at the Turnage Theater.

This event is free and open to the public.

The 10 songs on the program include: “Peace Like a River,” arranged by Gwyneth Walker; “Here, There and Everywhere,” by Beatles legends John Lennon and Paul McCartney; and “Swinging’ With the Saints,” arranged by Mark Hayes.

“We try to do a mix of the sacred and secular because we know our audiences like both,” said soprano Susan McFarland.

The conductor is Susan Crawford, a vocal instructor with a bachelor’s degree in voice performance from East Carolina University, reads a society news release.

The accompanist is Melissa Feller, who has a master’s degree in piano accompaniment from ECU, the release notes.

A quartet called Redeemed will perform.

Based in Washington, the quartet is comprised of tenor Donald Wallace, lead Larry Moore, baritone Wesley Beddard, bass Ed Mercer plus sound engineer Tony Ward.

The quartet’s song list features four pieces, among them “America the Beautiful” and “Step Into the Water.”

Gayle Watson, owner of Dance Academy East, will shuffle onto the scene with her Floor Essence group consisting of adult tap performers.

The tappers are Watson, Emily Mayne, Dawn Landen and Shelley Geitner, who also sings with the society.

Floor Essence will do a soft-shoe routine to a song called “Sweet Pea.”

“They’re not going to want to miss this soft shoe,” Watson said. “It’s particularly geared to this audience. That’s why we chose this piece of music and this particular style of dancing.”

Interested singers may join the choral society for a membership fee of $30 per semester.

The fee helps cover the expenses, including venue rentals and sheet music purchases.

Singers aren’t required to audition and don’t have to know how to read music, according to McFarland.

Vocalists of all ranges – alto, bass, what have you – are welcome, she said.

“We need every voice, really,” McFarland related.

Society members are hoping to swell their numbers to achieve a fuller ensemble sound, she said.

The members also anticipate outreach efforts targeting the whole county, McFarland pointed out.

The group has received funding from the North Carolina Arts Council through the Beaufort County Arts Council, but expects this funding will be reduced by the N.C. General Assembly.

That makes fundraising č donations and membership dues č all the more important, McFarland indicated.

“We expect to receive probably very little if anything this next year because of the budget constraints,” she said.

For more information, call 252-946-7868 or see the society’s Facebook page.