"This group consists of young people of various ages who are affiliated with Thayer Church of Christ.  They enjoy singing together and have occasionally sung for residents of a local nursing home, but this is their first public performance.  Congregations of the Church of Christ are found throughout the American South and Midwest, and many are located here in south-central Missouri.  These congregations usually do not use musical instruments during worship.  The unaccompanied singing that takes place in these congregations often involves the singing of several parts in harmony with the melody.  It reflects the influence of singing schools led by itinerant music teachers in rural communities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as that of the shape-note system of musical notation, which is closely associated with the rural singing school tradition.  The musical repertoire typically sung during worship in Church of Christ congregations consists largely of early gospel songs but sometimes also includes white spirituals and folk hymns that predate the advent of gospel songs in the South and Midwest.  The music sung by Youth of Thayer Church of Christ reflects both the Church of Christ singing tradition described here and the musical tastes of the young people who make up the group.  The Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival is pleased to present this new branch of a long-established regional tradition of sacred singing and is proud to host the first public appearance of Youth of Thayer Church of Christ."