One of the perks of hosting the District 5 Chorus Festival is that the host school is allowed to stock the chorus with up to 10 percent of its own student singers.

That's the reason Karen Latta applied to host this year's festival of the Pennsylvania Music Education Association at Wilmington Area High School.

Normally, Wilmington would have 4 to 6 singers in the festival, which runs Thursday through Saturday. This year, it will showcase 17.

"I have a group of juniors and seniors I wanted to say thank you to," Ms. Latta said of her reason for applying to host the festival. "It's an outstanding group of young men and women."

For this year, anyway, Ms. Latta will be able to select singers she believes are worthy of the honor.

District 5 also is moving more toward including the best singers from 48 school districts in the counties of Mercer, Lawrence, Butler and Beaver.

District 5, one of 12 districts in the state, is one of the few districts that does not select singers by audition, Ms. Latta said.

In the past, District 5 had used a formula for choosing singers, with quotas set for each school. In some cases, outstanding singers were missed, Ms. Latta said.

"There were kids who were making Honors Chorus who were never getting the chance to participate in Districts because of the rotation," she said.

Starting this year, 16 of the 181 singers were picked by their top rankings at the November Honors Chorus at Westminster College, New Wilmington.

"This is compromise between the way we've always done it and the way the other districts do it," Ms. Latta said.

Moses Hogan, a pianist, composer and arranger from New Orleans will be guest conductor for the festival, which is funded by registration fees, tickets sales and donations.

"We have been singing his music at festivals the last eight or nine years," Ms. Latta said. "It's fabulous music. And the kids love it."

Two Hogan works will be performed, his composition "I'm Going to Sing Until the Spirit Moves in my Heart," and his arrangement for the spiritual "My Soul's Been Anchored in the Lord."

Other works will include Handel's "Hallelujah Amen" from "Judas Maccabaeus," Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Oh, Clap Your Hands," James Erb's arrangement of "Shenandoah" and the Bahamian folk song "Big Bunch A Little Bunch."

Of special note is "Carry the Flame," the song originally written by 1995 Wilmington graduate Karin Henderickson that was chosen by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee to accompany the Olympic torch on its trek across the country.

Christa Panin, a Wilmington grad and choral director at Riverside High School, Ellwood City, will solo on "Carry the Flame," backed by the chorus.

Ms. Panin, formerly Christa Bailey, sang on the version of "Carry the Flame" that was submitted to the Olympic committee.

Writer and producer Brock Walsh touched up the song for the committee.

Students -- who are put up by local host families for the duration of the festival -- arrive for Thursday and will spend the day rehearsing.

Concerts will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are available at the door.

"They are good kids," Ms. Latta said. "They're good musicians, but they're good kids. I think everyone will have an enjoyable evening."