The Mt. San Antonio College Chamber Singers from Walnut, California performed for the Whitman choral department Monday evening.

The group sang an hour long set as part of their East Coast tour. Chorus teacher Jeff Davidson heard the group 13 years ago and said he was amazed by their quality and excited when he heard that they would be in town.

“This group exudes charisma,” he said in his introduction to the performance. “They sing with such energy and such excitement.”

The singers performed 10 songs, including a mixture of classical and contemporary pieces with a variety of ethnic roots. One of their songs, “Nyon Nyon,” contained only gibberish lyrics. Director Bruce Rogers said the composer had intended for the song to sound like a “vocal orchestra,” including sounds that mimicked a synthesizer.

Rogers said he aims to inspire high school chorus students and to encourage them to pursue music at a higher level.

“We get a really good reaction from them because they know what a good choir’s going to sound like, and they can compare it to their choir,” singer Elyse Smith said. “They understand what we’re trying to do.”

Davidson agreed it’s important for his students to be able to hear college-level choruses.

“I think our kids benefit from hearing the next step after high school,” he said.

“It shows how far we have to go and how far we’ve come,” sophomore chorus member Kaycie Goral said. “And it sets the example for the technique that we should be practicing.”