The San Joaquin Valley Swiss Club is bringing the music of the Alps to the Valley with their annual Swiss Echoes performance.

The performance is set for at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Ripon Swiss Hall.

The San Joaquin Valley Swiss Echoes are a local Swiss singing and yodeling club that have gotten together every spring and fall for a concert and dance since 1947. The mixed chorus of 35 members, directed by Agnes Litfin-Olmsted, and accompanied by SaraRae Vanderhelm, perform songs and yodel selections from the country of Switzerland and Germany while dressed in traditional Swiss costumes. 

Members come from Delhi, Escalon, Galt, Oakdale, Lodi, Manteca, Modesto, Ripon, Stockton, and Turlock.

The San Joaquin Valley Swiss Club was formed in 1920 as a way for people to share the customs and traditions of their homeland. In 1947, a group of 28 singers formed the first Swiss Echoes and became members of the United Swiss Singing Society of the Pacific Coast.

Swiss folk songs typically keep to a theme that reflects a love of nature and the region. Yodeling is one of the more well-known Swiss music traditions, as is the alphorn, a long and slender instrument. The alphorn and yodeling were originally methods for townspeople to communicate with one another from one mountaintop to another.

The Ed Inderbitzen Orchestra will provide music for dancing promptly after the concert.

Tickets for the concert are $10 at the door.