As tenor Jon Hawley says, “It’s time to take cover with Impromptu!, baby, and get in out of the rain!”

The local a cappella group will begin a spring concert series just drizzling with jazz, classics, pop and sunny songs which could banish any clouds. The 12-voice group was founded in 1995, focusing its efforts on traditional pieces for unaccompanied voice, taking much of its usual repertoire from Renaissance, medieval madrigal and classical music. This new season is very new, featuring songs mostly from the last century.

To enter the new, the group first chose a theme. “Take Cover with Impromptu! – It’s Raining Cats and Dogs!” set the stage for songs about the weather, like “Here’s That Rainy Day” and “Misty,” and songs about not having weather, like “In the Still of the Night” and “How High the Moon.” The animals come out in “Skylark,” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” and even the dog rendition of “Be It Ever So Humble, There’s No Place Like Home.”

Hawley points out the “fine line between tonality and howling. This is right on the edge.” Also featured is caterwauling ala Rossini. The charming “Cat Duet” is sung by two cats, here Karen Pendleton and Catherine LeClair, who try to out-cat-aria each other. Says Pendleton with a laugh, “It’s kind of obnoxious – we don’t go for pretty.”

It’s an exception for the ensemble, who all have extensive musical experience. The combination has gathered a following both in Maine and in their winter tour destination of Naples, Fla. This concert should inspire even more fans.

“It’s lots of fun – we’ve got a little bit of shtick. … It’s a lot more accessible to the general public, not just the MPBN crowd,” commented Hawley.

Hawley expects everybody to come away with favorites. His own is “My Cat Fell in the Well,” arranged by Impromptu! member Ruth Fogler.

“It’s an upbeat toe tapper and kind of a play on words. It’s just a little bit – suggestive – it might not be just about a cat that fell in a well. It’s sassy,” says Hawley.

And what of more somber offerings? Hawley muses, “Well, the Italian stuff might be more serious. But then, one song is about a cricket in love and the other is animals singing … owls and cats and dogs … a barnyard bonanza!” Yet for fans of the older styles, there is a Latin madrigal, which has the vaguely recognizable lyrics, “Horatius villam habet, E I E I O; et in villam equum habet vaccam, E I E I O; cum “moo moo” hic …”

The concert series will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Oceanside Meadows Inn, Prospect Harbor; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Minsky Recital Hall, University of Maine, Orono; 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 1, Bar Harbor Congregational Church; and 8 p.m. Saturday, June 23, Marsh River Theatre, Brooks. Tickets for the Orono and Bar Harbor concerts will be available at the door, $10 adults and $5 students and seniors. For information on the Prospect Harbor concert, call 963-5557; for information on the Brooks concert, call 234-2957.