A British term for rest room may seem to have nothing to do with the Lawrence Children’s Choir’s upcoming first concert of the season. But in a roundabout and rather exciting way, it does.

At the end of each of its intensive Monday night rehearsals leading up to its Saturday performance, the 74-member group learns a few new words ” like “water closet” ” that its members might encounter when they fly to London next spring to perform at St. Martin-in-the-Fields. And several of the songs they’re learning now to sing at Saturday’s concert will carry over into their international debut.

The choir was invited to sing in England last spring, but concerns about the safety of international travel in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks prompted board members to cancel the excursion.

“That was so heartbreaking for the kids to deal with that,” said parent volunteer Diana Frederick. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed that everything with the international situation is stable.”

Barring war with Iraq or other unforeseen circumstances, the choir plans to depart for England on Memorial Day 2003. Aside from an engagement at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, other performance plans have not been finalized.

Nonetheless, the choir children talk about the trip all the time, said Janeal Krehbiel, the group’s artistic director.

“It’s a wonderful goal to have,” she said. “For most of them, it’s really a brand new experience and something that will be very rich in their minds.”

In the meantime, choir members are busy raising funds for the trip and perfecting music for their upcoming local show.

The Lawrence children's choir rehearses last year in this file photo. The group will open its fall season on Saturday with a concert at Corpus Christi Catholic Church.

The choir will open its new season with a fall concert at 8 p.m. Saturday at Corpus Christi Catholic Church. Among the works on the program are the aria “Care Selve” by Handel; a Newfoundland folk song; an aria from Bernstein’s “Trouble Tahiti;” a Nigerian folk song, “The Pasture;” “Poet Sings;” and the “Honour Song.” The group’s performance of “The Balloon Man” will include two verses written by choir members.

The choir’s 65-member preparatory group, Choristers, directed by Pam Bushouse, will join in for several pieces, and two select ensembles from Lawrence and Free State high schools will join the choir for an early 1600’s antiphonal piece.

The choir has built quite a reputation for excellence. The group performed at Carnegie Hall in the spring of 2000. After last year’s London trip fell through, the choir substituted a trip to Los Angeles to sing in the Children’s Choir Festival.

The choir has been invited to sing at the Kansas Music Educator’s Assn.’s state convention in February and to be a guest children’s choir in June at the Chorus America Annual Conference in Kansas City.

Frederickson, for one, is thrilled that her own children ” one is in seventh grade, the other in ninth ” are part of the choir.

“As a parent, knowing that the arts are one area that’s been cut in the schools as far as music education goes, I’m thrilled there’s an opportunity like this outside of the schools to provide more music education,” she said.