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Otero College Choir to Perform “Inside Out” Pixar-Inspired Concert April 30 in La Junta
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Description: The Otero College Choir presents a free “Inside Out” themed concert on April 30, 2026, at First Presbyterian Church in La Junta, featuring songs inspired by emotions from Pixar films and Broadway hits...
The Otero College Choir presents: “An Inside Out Concert: Songs Based on the Emotions of the Pixar Movies”
Thursday, April 30, 2026 First Presbyterian Church, 20th and Raton
Free Admission
Dean Rees, director of the Otero College Choir, believes that music has a direct connection to emotions. Emotions are the ground of life’s richness. They’re a huge part of our common humanity. It is often said that the Arts connect us with our humanity in a way that commerce and science cannot. So, an idea was born to base an entire concert on the emotions personified as cartoon characters in the popular “Inside Out” Pixar movies, namely: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, Anxiety, Disgust, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment.
The Otero College Community Choir presents their semester’s concert on Thursday, April 30, and it features a widely diverse and entertaining collection of songs that embody the emotions listed above. It’s a one-time event you won’t want to miss! Entitled “Inside Out, Songs Based on the Emotions of the Pixar Movies”, the concert will be performed off campus because of scheduling conflicts at the college. This semester’s concert venue is the First Presbyterian Church of La Junta, 20th and Raton.7:00 pm. Admission is free.
Highlights include songs from Broadway shows, popular hits, gospel rock styles, Disney shows, and even a song by Mozart that brilliantly embodies fear and anger. Joy is portrayed through the gospel hit “Oh Happy Day”. Sadness called for a blues tune, so the plaintive “Blues in the Night” bewails the faithlessness of men, or at least as seen through the eyes of a bitterly disillusioned woman. “Waving Through a Window” from the Broadway show “Dear Evan Hansen” represents anxiety. The popular Broadway play “Wicked” gives us the song “What is This Feeling?”, and it’s a perfect expression of the disgust that the good witch and bad witch feel for each other in the land of Oz. Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ On the Dock of the Bay” is arranged as an a capella group song; it reflects ennui (boredom.) Kate Pruyn and Kaydence Salazar compete to enviously one-up each other in the Disney song “Badder.” And you’ll never guess who can’t sing in tune as the choir accompanies him in the “A Chorus Line” song, “Sing!” So embarrassing, and so actually not true. You’ll have to come to the concert to find out!
Other songs during the evening: We Are the Voices, Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee, What a Wonderful World, Dies Irae, Girlfriend, May a Rainbow Run Beside You, and Celebrate Happy. Soloists in the songs are Demian Ryder, Grant Elliot, Kate Pruyn, Kaydence Salazar, Maranatha Hoyt, Mike Shima, Terry Miller, and Tim Austin. Instrumentalists are Lyman Bushkovski, bass guitar; Jordan Borrego, drums; and Bruce Boyd, flute. Lynne Tabb will recite poetic commentary. Mary Belew, the choir’s piano accompanist, impresses with her musical skill and sensitivity.
Mr. Rees cordially invites the Arkansas Valley Community to attend this special event featuring fun and expressive music to suit every taste! Can you feel it? It’s an “Inside Out” concert!
