On Saturday at 3 p.m., the Coppell Community Orchestra will perform its annual holiday concert at the Cozby Library and Community Commons. This year, it will be joined by guest singer and former Coppell High School student, Smrithi Upadhyayula.

The orchestra itself is very different from a typical orchestra as its members have a large age gap, ranging from high schoolers to people in their late 40s.

“It’s interesting to collaborate with older members since a lot of them were in school bands [or] orchestra programs a long time ago,” Upadhyayula said. “The experience is also different from band at the high school as in school we prepared for competitions but here we got to have a more laid back musical experience.”

Last year, orchestra members performed an array of movie medleys including “Harry Potter” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Upadhyayula joined the orchestra last year, the first year it was initiated, as she was introduced to it by her flute teacher Cecilia Hamilton, the conductor of the orchestra. As Upadhyayula joined Texas Academy of Math and Science (TAMS) this year, she found that she could not regularly participate in the orchestra; however, she jumped at the chance to perform “White Christmas” as a guest performer for the holiday concert.

“When you are a high school musician, it’s really nice to just get to play music for fun sometimes and participating in the orchestra allows me to do so. It also gives adults who aren’t professional musicians the chance to have an ensemble experience,” Upadhyayula said.