DALLAS -- University of North Texas Dallas Campus counseling professor Steve Farmer sings with the Arts District Chorale November 9th at 8 p.m. at the Cathedral Guadalupe in Dallas.

Farmer joined the choir this semester and sings baritone. Tuesday evening the choir rehearsed with an orchestra, which is made up of performers from the Dallas Opera Orchestra. "It's going to be a really great concert," Farmer said after rehearsing with the orchestra.

The concert, titled Transformed by War, features the 60-voice Chorale performing "Songs of Love and War" by Paul Moravec and Vaughan Williams' "Dona nobis pacem" (Grant Us Peace). "Songs of Love and War" is based on letters -- from son to mother, from wife to husband, from a Marine to a comrade's mother and from a lieutenant to his wife -- that span a century of wars from the Civil War to Vietnam.

This concert opens their 2008-09 season. "The whole season is about transformation," Farmer said. "The second concert is Valentine's Day and is titled Transformed by Love."

The 19-year-old vocal ensemble is directed by H. Michie Akin, founding artistic director and conductor of the Chorale.

Akin said Farmer is "typical of many of the folks that we attract because Steve had sung in a chorus in another city. He was searching for a choir where he could use that experience and become a part of a community. He's a good guy."

Akin said that because the concert is two days away from Veterans Day, service members and veterans get in free. Tickets are $20 in advance, $15 for seniors and $5 for students. The Cathedral is located in the Dallas Arts District at the corner of Ross Avenue and North Pearl.