Palo Alto High School’s Visual and Performing Arts Department is opening the semester with three performances: Art in Unusual places, The Pops Concert and Macbeth.

Planned by Paly Art, Art in Unusual Places included instrumental music, singing, acting and visual pieces such as drawings in places people would not usually see art.

“Last year we were doing a musical at the time so we did scenes and dances from the musical in front of the social sciences building and in the library,” Paly Theatre Director Kathleen Woods said.

In its second year running, Art in Unusual Places hoped to make art more accessible to all Paly students.

“It’s about getting art out of the theater out of the choir room out of the art room and bringing it out onto campus,” Woods said.

Various Paly art groups performed their pieces during brunch and lunch from Tuesday to Friday.

Choir is also working on an event: the Pops Concert. The theme for this year’s Pops Concert is the Bay Area.

“Every year it’s a different theme.” junior Nadia Leinhos said. “Last year it was soul and the year before that it was old school. This year I think it might be a little bit trickier because you have to do research on where our artist is from because we’re only doing artists from the Bay Area.”

So far some of the song selections include Train songs, performed by the Madrigal Choir, a Steve Miller Band medley, performed by the Concert Choir, and other songs by artists from the Bay Area most of which are rock songs from the 70’s.

According to Leinhos, the Pops Concert is a great opportunity for choir students to perform in a more relaxed environment.

“It’s the laid back concert, it’s not as much work to learn the music, the music is a little bit easier, and it’s more upbeat than the formal professional choir performances,” Leinhos said.

The Pops Concert will be held on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12 at the Haymarket Theater.

Paly Theatre is currently rehearsing a version of “Macbeth” set in modern day Scotland which will be the last major production in the Haymarket this school year.

“It’s going to have a contemporary look and feel to it,” Woods said. “It’s done with the style of ‘House of Cards’ and with that emphasis on politics and power.”

Setting “Macbeth” in modern-day Scotland means that the characters from the play will be modern-day figures. For example, “Macbeth” will be the president of Scotland and the witches will be members of Scotland’s underclass.

“Macbeth” will be performed Feb. 25-27 and March 4-6.