The Palmerton Area Junior and Senior High School concert bands will take the stage Thursday night for its spring concert.

The free performance begins at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium.

Following rehearsal on Tuesday, several members of the band discussed their excitement for the performance.

“This is our chance to showcase our talent,” said Nevaeh Keiper, trumpet player. “We hope to get a tremendous amount of support on Thursday. The goal is for people to get as much enjoyment out of hearing our music as we do playing it.”

Matt Binder, flute player, said the band has practiced for about three hours a week since January. Preparation, he said, began shortly after the last concert ended.

“We look forward to getting to share with the audience how far this band has come in such a sort amount of time,” Binder said. “To go from four members several years ago to what we have now is really amazing.”

Selections from the junior high concert band, under the direction of Laura Cressley, include “The Forge of Vulcan,” “Jazz Cat,” “Grease,” “Cake by the Ocean,” “Washington Post March” and the “Mission: Impossible Theme.”

High school concert band selections, under the direction of Tom Heinick, include “Emblem of Gold,” “Rhythm of the Winds,” “A Tribute to Gershwin,” “España Cañi,” “Warm Winds,” “Baby Elephant Walk,” “Highlights from Bye Bye Birdie,” “Minnie the Moocher” and “God of Our Fathers.”

“I don’t know that a lot of people really get to listen to live music that much,” Mikayla Wilkins, bass clarinet player, said. “When you hear live performances, it’s so much better than listening to something on your phone. You get to see the role each individual person plays and it’s a great experience.”

For Heinick, the growth in the band over the past few years has been evident.

“The group has grown from four members in 2014 to 22 this year,” he said. “Their technical skills under their respective instruments has improved dramatically as well as their musical maturity, expression and sense of ensemble.”

A few years ago, Heinick said, all of the music the band played had to be written for limited instrumental groups.

“It was written at a lower difficulty level. This group has embraced music of greater difficulty and at a level where it has much more substance.”

Wilkins is hoping for a packed house on Thursday night.

“You play music because you want people to hear you,” she said. “The audience can expect to be impressed by the variety of different musical selections.”

The concert kicks off a busy May for the Palmerton music program. Future events include the high school and junior high chorus concert on May 10 at 7 p.m., Towamensing Elementary Fine Arts Night on May 14 at 6 p.m., S.S. Palmer Elementary Chorus Concert on May 16 at 7 p.m., the Elementary Cadet Band Concert on May 23 at 7 p.m., the Palmerton Memorial Day Parade and Service on May 27 at 10 a.m., the Towamensing Elementary Chorus Concert on May 28 at 7 p.m. and the Parkside Elementary kindergarten and first grade concert on May 31 at 6 p.m.

“We want to thank the administration for all of the support they have given our program,” Keiper said.