Matthew Surmaczewicz loves to sing — whether it’s for a crowd of 20,000 at the International Choral Festival in Missoula, Mont., or at home in Eudora, singing, the 13-year-old soprano says, makes him “joyful.”

He’ll share that joy Saturday evening at the Lawrence Free Methodist Church, 3001 Lawrence Ave., where the Lawrence Civic Choir is staging its 41st annual holiday concert, aptly titled “Make We Joy.”

“That’s really what this is all about,” says David Ice, the choir’s president. “This is a joyous season, and we want to make joyous music to commemorate the season.”

The theme takes its name from one of the pieces in this year’s program, which also features favorites such as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” “Auld Lang Syne” and the night’s crown jewel, Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms.”

Matthew, a seventh-grader at Lawrence’s Raintree Montessori School, will accompany the choir as a guest soloist during the notoriously difficult piece (it’s sung entirely in Hebrew).

“The work the individuals in the civic choir have put into this to master the Hebrew and also the notes, of course, is a real effort,” Ice says. “Most civic choirs like ours or nonprofessional choirs don’t touch this piece.”

And yet, since September, the choir’s approximately 100 members have rehearsed the modern classic every week in preparation for this weekend’s concert. Matthew started work about a month ago.

A four-year veteran of the Lawrence Children’s Choir, Matthew was chosen for the job by his vocal teacher and choir director Carolyn Welch. Together, they’ve been working to perfect his Hebrew pronunciations (“it’s really hard to learn, but I think I’m doing a good job,” Matthew says) and intonation.

“Chichester Psalms,” which Bernstein scholars note as a blend of Jewish liturgical tradition and vocal composition associated with church music that acted as a plea for peace in Israel during the country’s turbulent infancy, specifically calls for the part of the countertenor to be performed by either a countertenor or a boy soprano.

Meant to reinforce the liturgical meaning of the passage, some explain Bernstein’s decision as a suggestion that the 23rd Psalm, a “Psalm of David” from the Hebrew Bible, was to be heard as if sung by a young David himself, Ice says.

When he’s not at lessons with Welch, Matthew tries to get in at least 15 minutes of practice time each day. “Some of the words are kind of confusing,” he admits, but overall, he’s enjoying the preparation for his first major solo performance.

“I think sometimes I feel nervous getting up in front of a bunch of people and singing, but once I get up on stage and start singing, it’s a lot of fun,” Matthew says. “I kind of go off in my own world when I sing. And I like doing it to help people and make people happy.”

In the final days before the concert, Matthew is feeling confident, though not without the usual nerves. After all, he’s been singing since his toddler days and will probably continue after he ages out of the Lawrence Children’s Choir in a few years.

For now, Matthew is happy making others happy, including his extended family down in Florida. They’ll be rooting for him (at least in spirit) when he takes the stage Saturday night, says Cindi Surmaczewicz, Matthew’s mother.

“He gets it from God, that’s for sure,” jokes his self-admittedly nonmusical mom. “I’m really excited for him and I’m really proud of him.”

“Make We Joy” is slated for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Lawrence Free Methodist Church, 3001 Lawrence Ave. Tickets are $15, and can be purchased at the door or from a member of the Lawrence Civic Choir.