Youth Coordinator

Kristy Brumfield, Youth Coordinator

Tecolote (Song of the Little Owl) 

SA

Victoria Ebel-Sabo

Shawnee 35022538

This beautiful Spanish lullaby was inspired by the composer's childhood memories.  It is a simple, two part piece with a lilting melody, characteristic spanish rhythms, and a piano accompaniment that has a guitar feel.  Its beauty and simplicity are a perfect complement to the innocence of children's voices.  You will be humming this one long after the concert has ended.  

Festival Alleluia

Unison/Two-Part

Allen Pote

Choristers Guild CGA280

This exciting, rhythmic piece is perfect for choirs just beginning to explore two-part singing.  The melody is quite singable, with just enough of a challenge to give your young singers a true sense of accomplishment.  The message of the text is perhaps its best feature: "Make your life a song to God!" Whether programming for school, festival, or concert, this is sure to become a favorite of your singers.  

Magical Kingdom

Two-Part

John Rutter

Oxford University Press 9780193408296

For young voices, can you go wrong with Rutter?  Definitely not with this piece.  This secular piece is perfect for children's voices with its fantasy and fairytale-laced text.  The harmonies are simple, yet challenging enough for beginning part singers to enjoy.  The melody is quite lyrical with just a touch of pop, characteristic of Rutter's writing.  Audiences and singers alike will fall in love with this ode to childhood innocence.  

Fun with Boomwhackers

Chris Judah-Lauder

Alfred 0528B

This resource is a must for any teacher who incorporates Boomwhackers into their lessons.  The book includes twenty songs and lessons, presented in order of difficulty, that incorporate the NAfME standards.  There are also lessons that utilize movement and mallet techniques.  The lessons are easily adaptable for your classroom needs.  Boomwhackers are a fun way to reinforce sight reading skills, and can be used for an out-of-the-ordinary accompaniment to a piece or two for your children's choir.  This book is a great place to start if you would like to explore ways to use Boomwhackers in your music classes.  

Collegiate Coordinator

Phillip Stockton, Collegiate Coordinator

Mass in Blue

Will Todd

Soprano solo, SATB choir, piano, bass, drum set, optional alto saxophone

Oxford University Press 9780193400504

This would be a great way to engage the jazz band at your institution to perform a piece with the choir. Have a listen and see if it fits what you want to do.

Music of Will Todd

I cannot limit my recommendations to just one piece. What intrigues me about his music is that he has a style, but his pieces do not all sound the same. Each piece is thoughtfully composed/arranged to fit the intention of the text. Go to his website for more information and recordings of his music.

http://willtodd.co.uk/

Die Forelle

Arranged by D. Jason Bishop

SSA

Hal Leonard Publishing 00140684

There has been a recent trend to take art songs and set them for choral ensembles. I have suggested these before in previous blog posts, and will continue the trend with one of the most loved art songs by Franz Schubert. Your treble groups will enjoy singing this lively arrangement that is true to the original. The piano accompaniment is very similar to the original, but made more accessible by the arranger.

Chorus Confidential

William Dehning

I am always looking for a way to integrate leadership into my choral conducting courses. This year I have chosen Chorus Confidential as a companion to our conducting work. The writing is relaxed, sometimes sarcastic, anecdotal, but full of depth and knowledge from a respected choral conductor. I am enjoying reading it and feel that my students will as well as your students.

Lifelong Coordinator

Mark Nabholz, Lifelong Coordinator

Three Sacred Anthems for Smaller Choirs

Tired of formulaic and uninspiring “manageable” anthems? Here are three that avoid predictable drudgery, but are still within the grasp of church choirs with 15-30 voices.

Title of piece: Fairest Lord Jesus

Voicing: SATB/piano

Season: General

Composer: Derek Hakes, arr. Craig Courtney

Publisher number: Beckenhorst BP1657

Description: A lovely new tune for a beloved hymn text, supported by a well-crafted pianistic accompaniment. The final verse soprano descant will be a delight to both your choir and congregation.

Listen: http://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/media-player.jsp?&type=audio&productID=8064422

Title of piece: Comfort, Comfort

Voicing: SATB/organ (or acappella)

Season: Advent

Composer: FREU DICH SEHR, arr. John Ferguson

Publisher number: Augsburg 0800646355

Description: This light and energetic setting of an old Calvinist “Genevan Jig” tune ushers in the Advent season with a dash of color that doesn’t overtax limited resources. A short ritornello between each verse can be played by C instruments or the keyboard.

Listen: https://youtu.be/Bbk1eagEjOw

Title of piece: Kyrie

Voicing: SAB/piano

Composer: Eric Unruh

Publisher number: Augsburg 080065708X

Description: This beautiful and accessible setting of the traditional Kyrie text rewards your choir’s modest investment with a tremendous return. An easy to learn anthem suitable for communion or Lenten use.

Listen: https://youtu.be/5McVMKlZoqw

Repertoire Specific Coordinator

Angie Rawls, Repertoire Specific Coordinator

The Awakening

Joseph M. Martin

TTBB

Hal Leonard Corporation CO286   35001492

This piece was published in 1995, so it has been around for a few years.  The first time my choirs performed it, we sang the SATB version which I also recommend.  It is not very difficult, but it sounds impressive.  (You need a skilled accompanist and at least one bass with a low Db).  J  There is a lot of opportunity for expressiveness.  The pieces starts very soft and somber, then builds to a glorious triumphant ending – “let music live!”  The text speaks of the power of music to change the world. 

“IPA Made Easy; A Guidebook for the International Phonetic Alphabet” by Anna Wentlent

I did not study IPA in college, but I’ve come to recognize and appreciate the benefits the knowledge of IPA can have in a choral rehearsal.  I’ve basically learned IPA alongside my students. This book serves as a quick, easy reference guide whenever I have questions or doubt myself.  J

“Quick Fixes; Prescriptions for Every Choral Challenge” by Tim Seelig

This book provides very practical solutions for very real issues in choral rehearsals.  There are prescriptions for everything from breathing to syllabic stress to musical expression.

Contemporary and Commercial

Carol Joy Sparkman, Contemporary and Commercial R&R Chair

Songbird

SSAA with Solo

arr. Deke Sharon

HL 08749914

Each year I look for a piece that will be a good starter piece for my group, many of whom haven’t had experience singing contemporary a cappella. This piece is a quick learn because the accompaniment figure of the voices repeats. When preparing a contemporary a cappella piece, I listen to several recordings and may add harmony or obbligato lines as they fit. Don’t be afraid to raise or lower the key, making it more suitable for your group.

Love is Christmas

SSAA with Solo

Arr. Brian Haverkate

Available from the arranger: brianhaverkate.com

Brian Haverkate, the arranger, is a high school educator in Michigan, and arranges for his groups, as well as groups all over the nation. This piece is a beautiful arrangement of Sara Bareilles’ ballad and is very accessible. It feels like a lullaby and would be a lovely addition to a holiday concert.

A Cappella Resources

Lately I have been searching the internet for arrangements of contemporary pop songs for my a cappella groups. There are stock arrangements that are available from the usual sites: J. W. Pepper, SheetMusic Plus, MusicNotes.Com. However, if you do a little digging and listening, you will find some hidden gems. I have discovered that there are student arrangers who are the musical directors for collegiate student-run ensembles who publish their arrangements on MuseScore and NoteFlight. Many of the arrangements are free and the arrangers only ask that you send an email if you plan to perform the arrangement. Other arrangers post only part of the song and ask that you contact them for the remainder.

Ethnic Music

Harlan Zackery, Jr., Ethnic Music R&R Chair

Ballinderry

SSA, piano and violin

Traditional Irish Folk Song

Arranged by Jill Gallina

Shawnee Press/Hal Leonard 35028216

This melancholy piece is a great introduction to Irish folk music for your choir.  This piece has simple, repetetive melodies supported by a flowing piano accompaniment.  The lilting violin solo adds another exiting dimension.  Great piece for teaching/reinforcing reading of triplets and dotted quarter rhythms.  In the arranger's words, "Ballinderry in Irish means 'town of the oak wood' and...tells the sad story of Mary whose love Phelim was lost at sea."

Oye

SATB, piano, opt. percussion and bass

Words and Music by Jim Papouvlis

Edited by Francisco J. Nuñez

Boosey & Hawkes/Hal Leonard 48019428

Oye, which translates as "listen" or "listen up" is an exuberant piece which was born out of a songwriting workshop for children from economically disadvantaged areas in Acapulco, Mexico.  This piece works well for sacred or secular programs on social justice or as a high energy opener or closer.  The piano accompaniment and vocal lines are at times rhythmically intricate, ornamented by shaker, agogo, conga drum, cowbell and bass.  

Three Rhythmic Spirituals

SATB, soli and piano

William Grant Still

Bourne/William Grant Still Music (no catalog number available)

A charming set of, as the title states, rhythmic spirituals by Mississippi-born composer, William Grant Still. The first piece of the set is Lord I Looked Down the Road, scored for soprano and tenor soloists, chorus and piano.  The latter two pieces,  Hard Trials, and Holy Spirit, Don't You Leave Me  are written without soli.  The entire set, lasts less than 10 minutes and has many early gospel and blues inflections.  Your chorus is sure to enjoy them!

Slave Songs of the United States

William Frances Allen, Charles Pickard Ware and Lucy McKim Garrison

Dover 1995 Reprint

ISBN-13 978-0486285733

This resource is a fascinating anthology of spirituals, slave songs, calls and responses.  Most of the entries in this book are transcribed directly from first hand sources.  This is wealth of information for those studying performances practice or seeking material for arranging.  A valuable piece of American history!

Junior High

Tammy Maxie, Junior High R&R Chair

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

SSA

Audrey Synder

Hal Leonard 00138159

Have you been shy to try pop a cappella with your junior high students? I have been very wary of such music however this arrangement is perfect for young female voices! 

Pirate Story

TB (B)

Mark Burrows

Brilee 917

If you are searching for a piece to fit all your middle school boys changing voices this is it!  You cannot go wrong with this Robert Lewis Stevenson setting.  Just be careful that they don’t over sing!! It is very lively and robust!

Sing for Joy

TB

George F. Handel/Linda Spevacek

Heritage Music Press 15/2356H

Adapted from the duet from “Judas Maccabaeus”, Sing for Joy is a short piece with many musical teaching moments throughout for young male singers.  This piece has challenged my men to use the best part of their voice.  It has also helped them learn to sing with proper tone quality and resonation.

The VOCES8 Method

Paul Smith

Edition Peters Group

The Voces8 Method has been useful in my choral rehearsals as a tool to help my singers with ear training skills.  I have found that the simple method creates a  positive impact toward singing without piano accompaniment and trusting their ears to follow repeated patterns and melodies within different styles of songs.  This method develops teamwork, problem solving and creative thinking.  My singers are engaged and ready to tackle the music in their folder with much more enthusiasm.  In addition to the musical benefits from this method, students are also improving numeracy, literacy and linguistics skills to carry into the classroom.

Men's Choir

Dr. Adam Potter, R&R Chair for Men’s Choirs

Sing Your Way Home

TTBB

Joseph M. Martin (quoting Antonín Dvořák)

Mark Foster/Shawnee Press/Hal Leonard #35027949

Your guys will love singing this beautiful text:

Sing your way home at the close of the day.

Sing your way home. Drive the shadows away.

Where’er you go, wherever you roam,

it will brighten your road; lighten your load

if you sing, sing your way home.

Martin’s harmonies are mostly diatonic with wonderful moments of dissonance (quickly resolved).

 “Stomp Your Foot!” from The Tender Land

TTBB

Aaron Copland

Boosey & Hawkes/Hal Leonard #M-051-45146-4

This classic has fallen somewhat out of fashion, but is great fun for advanced men’s choirs. Great to reinforce vocal production in high and low tessituri. Requires two talented pianists for the piano-duo accompaniment.

Ascendit Deus

TTTBB

Jacob Handl

CPDL #00833

This polyphonic Renaissance piece is a terrific choice for your advanced men’s choir. Predominantly in the Ionian mode, it is perfect to reinforce rhythmic and tonal reading concepts. Handl (also known as Gallus) demonstrates his mastery of text painting throughout.

Title of Resource: Teaching Music with Passion: Conducting, Rehearsing and Inspiring by Peter Loel Boonshaft

Description of Resource: If you’re in the “mid-semester blues,” this is a great read to invigorate and inspire your teaching again. Through a series of reflections on being a music educator, Boonshaft helps us rekindle the flame that drove us to become teachers in the first place.

Music in Worship

Slater Murphy, Music in Worship R&R Chair

When in Our Music God is Glorified

SATB

Words by Fred Pratt Green, Music by Charles V. Stanford

Arranged by Mary McDonald

Hope Publishing Company, C 5900, Orchestration available

This traditional text and tune is given a fresh new setting, by virtue of the formidable imagination of Mary McDonald.  You would expect the piano accompaniment to be expansive and interesting; it does not disappoint.  This anthem will work with a pretty skilled church choir, but it’s best usefulness may be for festival occasions or with senior high and university groups.  A few lines of Psalm 150 also are used as the song setting builds to its conclusion.

Forevermore (Psalm 145)

SATB

Travis Cottrell

Arranged by Phillip Keveren

LifeWay Worship, 6-34337-388922, Orchestration available

The text certainly is one of my favorite Psalms, and the original tune is extremely interesting.  I love the way unrelated keys are explored during the development section.  The music reminds me of a great John Williams film score; it has become one of my new favorites because of the masterful way this worthy text is supported throughout.  You will find Phillip Keveren’s orchestrations to be interesting and challenging.

Hine Ma Tov

SATB

Allan Naplan

Boosey & Hawkes, Hal Leonard, 48022844

This Hebrew text, Psalm 133, translates to “Behold, how good it is for brethren to dwell together in peace.”  The message is universal, crossing cultures, languages, and religions.  It is expertly composed in a traditional Klezmer style, incorporating lively syncopation with alternating sequences of major and minor modes.  Students love this piece.  The accompaniment is for piano and a pretty accomplished clarinetist.

Bach Among the Theologians

By Jaroslav Pelikan

Wipf & Stock Publishers

Okay, I confess that I am a Bach aficionado.  As an organist who has endured rigorous training for the purpose of experiencing the sheer joy of playing some of his major works, I am in awe of this composer.  Most musicians know of Bach’s devotion to God, but few understand how Reformation theology informed his musical output.  Pelikan delves into three main movements within the Lutheran theology of the 17^th and 18^th centuries as a framework for understanding Bach.  Specifically, he also demonstrates how Bach’s sacred music complements and illustrates these theological trends.  This text is not a light read, but it is only 140 pages in length, and in my opinion well worth the effort, the payoff being that the reader’s ears will be sharpened to hear and better understand the decisive undertones of Bach’s music.

High School

Claire Leeke, High School R&R Chair

Famine Song

SATB Choir, unaccompanied (also available SSAA)

arr. Matthew Culloton

SBMP575

This is not a new piece necessarily, but it was new to me when I ordered it for my kids last year. The text tells the story of the survival of the Sudanese people during the famine of the 1980s. Your students will love the haunting melody and beautiful, yet accessible harmonies. It does require two strong and passionate female soloists, so if you have a couple of singers you would like to show-off, this would fit the bill!

Through the Dark

SATB Choir and Piano

Andrea Ramsey

Pavane P1371

The text for this piece is selected from the writings of Helen Keller. Ramsey’s writing beautifully captures the meaning and power of the text. It contains a little bit of everything: rhythmically driven mixed meter sections followed by long, lush, sustained chords. This will be a piece that both you and your students will connect with on a musical and emotional level.

Ukuthula

SATB Choir + Soloist, unaccompanied (also available SSAA)

arr. Andre van der Merwe

S-369

This African prayer for peace was sung by choirs all around the world last year as a part of World Day of Peace. The lyrics are loosely translated as, “In this world of sin, the blood of Jesus brings peace, redemption, praise, faith, victory and comfort.” It would be a very poignant and powerful addition to any concert program.

Vocal Transformation For Secondary School Choirs

by: Christine Bass

I’ve finally discovered this resource for myself and it is excellent! Christine Bass, a former high school director herself, provides you effective exercises to encourage a free, healthy and mature sound with your young singers.

Two Year College

LaDona Tyson, Two-Year College R&R Chair

Good Night, Dear Heart

SSA

Dan Forrest

Hinshaw Music HMC2450

This lovely piece has an optional piano accompaniment, so it works well for both intermediate and advanced women’s choirs.

Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!

TTBB

Howard Helvey

Beckenhorst Press BP1981

A challenging piece for college men, but worth the effort! This piece will allow your accompanist to shine as well.

Ubi Caritas

SATB

Ola Gjeilo

Walton Music WW1386

A beautiful piece with optional piano improvisation. 

The Upbeat – a blog from www.lindsaybrazell.com

This is a weekly blog from a fellow PhD student at Southern Miss.  I have never subscribed to a blog before, but I look forward to the weekly emails.  She posts 3 relevant articles and links to new choral music each week.  Topics range from music education to character education to organizational skills.  It is a great way to stay current on trends in the field, especially if you tire of the traditional journals.

Women's Choir

Rachel Upton, Women’s Choir R&R Chair

Heart, We Will Forget Him

SSA

Laura Farnell

Hal Leonard 08745125

“Heart, We Will Forget Him” is for SSA and piano. It contains many opportunities for young ladies to sing long, beautiful phrases that require proper breath support and line shaping. It’s a great teaching tool to reinforce these techniques. The notes and rhythms are not difficult, but Heart will require energy and effort from young ladies in a different capacity. I found it challenging in different aspects for both my beginning ladies and advanced ladies. In addition to these great teaching opportunities, this message of this piece resonates with young girls. They easily connect to the meaning behind the Dickinson poetry.

Confitemini Domino

SSA

Patti Drennan

Hal Leonard 08749631

This accompanied language pieces sets young ladies up for success. The tessitura is appropriate for all female voices and is a great tool to introduce compound meter. “Confitemini Domino” requires a lot of diaphragmatic energy for those explosive consonants needed at the beginning of words like “confitemini” and “quoniam”. Personally, my ladies struggle to internalize the feel of pieces and often times stand on the risers stiff legged and statuesque. Without me having to delve into the motion needed in a jubilant 6/8 piece, my ladies were moving with intent and buoyancy that I had never seen them display before. This piece organically produces the correct type of movement I was looking for in my young ladies. 

Danny Boy

SSA a cappella

Arr. Brian Finley

Boosey and Hawkes 48005092

Finley’s arrangement was originally for SSA choir and tenor solo, but works equally well for a solo voice and SSA or small ensemble and SSA. This gentle arrangement should be interpreted somewhat freely, with the solo line being predominant. The solo (or small ensemble) line provides a wonderful opportunity to show off young ladies with emerging lyrical quality voice(s).

Essential Musicianship: A Comprehensive Choral Method (Volumes 1, 2, and 3)

Emily Crocker and John Leavitt

This resource is designed to provide a basis for developing comprehensive musicianship within the choral rehearsal through a sequenced study of voice, music theory, and the practical application of both in music reading skills. There are three volumes available. The concepts presented are structured to allow students to discover their individual potential. Each chapter provides refresher courses in voice, theory, and sight-reading. In my classroom, I utilize the “performance” pieces included in most chapters as additional sight reading exercises.

Show Choir

Debbie Wolfe, Show Choir R&R Chair

Blame It on the Boogie

2-part

Arr. Mac Huff
Hal Leonard 08202757
Who didn't love the Jackson 5?! I did this 2-part arrangement with a small middle school group and it became a favorite. With a strong lead line and nice harmonies, this is a great dance showcase piece.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love 
SATB
arr. Mark Brymer
Hal Leonard 08214459
This Queen hit has been jazzed up and is just simply fun to perform. This piece has a walking bass line, rockin' horn parts and awesome vocals.