Buddy the Elf (Nolan Derrig) leads the entire seventh to 12th-grade choirs in the “Theme from Elf” to close out The Spirit of the Season concert Monday night in the Prem Sahai Auditorium at the Webster City High School Monday evening.

The Webster City Middle and High School choirs presented their Christmas concert to a crowd estimated at nearly 700 people at Prem Sahai Auditorium Monday night. Five choirs performed a total of 11 numbers, all of which came from movies or animated television special programs.

Anyone who attended couldn’t miss the abundant evidence of hard work on the part of Choir Director Greta Nelson and the singers themselves.

The Middle School Choir was up first singing a medley of “Hot Chocolate,” “Frosty The Snowman,” and “Suzy Snowflake.”

The performance of “Hot Chocolate” didn’t feature the tap dancing waiters and conductor from “The Polar Express,” but the singers brought it all back with spirited treatment of the always fun lyrics. “Frosty the Snowman,” first and famously sung by Gene Autry in 1950 and “Suzy Snowflake,” a less well-known number from 1953 made famous by Rosemary Clooney, recalled Christmases long past for listeners of a certain age.

Next, The Lynx Singers performed two numbers: “Vuelie,” from Disney’s movie “Frozen,” followed by “Holiday Road,” taken from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” starring Chevy Chase. Greta Kenville was a featured soloist on electric guitar.

The Treble Singers are a newly-formed choir this year. Nelson explains how they came to be.

“As our numbers continue to steadily climb in the high school vocal music program, I wanted to offer another auditioned choir for students who are ready for more challenging music.”

As the name implies these singers have voices in a higher register.

“Like many schools, there tend to be more sopranos and altos than tenors and bases in our program. The addition of Treble Singers allows for Varsity Singers to stay a more balanced ensemble and, of course, offers more opportunity for these girls.”

The 20 female voices that make up The Treble Singers sang “Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas” from “Home Alone 2,” and the wistful “Once Upon a December” from the animated film “Anastasia.”

Chordination took the audience back to the classic 1942 film “Holiday Inn,” whose perennial Christmas favorite “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” was popularized by Bing Crosby.

Nelson explained the special place occupied by Chordination in the school district’s vocal music firmament.

“Chordination is an extracurricular, auditioned choir of 16 voices that is open to grades nine to 12. These students will get to experience different genres of music throughout the year — like jazz, a cappella music, chamber choir repertoire, and madrigals. The purpose of Chordination is to offer an advanced experience to advanced musicians. I also love witnessing ninth-graders work alongside 12th-graders in a smaller choir setting like this. This group typically forms quite a unique and special bond throughout the school year.”

The choir was accompanied by Cyra Christensen on bass and Owen Gallentine on drums. Soloists included Jack Barner, Caroline Ehn, Soph Rippentrop, Gabe Ruby, Will Ruby and Zander Schwienerbart.

“The Spirit of The Season” and “Christmastime is Here” were performed by The Varsity Singers, which Nelson describes as “an auditioned, mixed ensemble of soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices.”

Composed exclusively of 10th- to 12th-grade students, this year’s choir has 15 seniors, which Nelson notes is larger than usual. She complimented these senior vocalists for being “wonderful leaders.”

The theme from “Elf,” the 2003 Christmas comedy film starring Will Ferrell and James Caan, was selected by Nelson as the concert finale. The combined choirs filled the large stage at Prem Sahai Auditorium and as the audience roared its approval for the evening’s entertainment transitioned into an animated version of the English carol, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” which almost made the idea of a “figgy pudding” appealing.