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The COVID-19 pandemic has brought most collaborative in person music making to a halt. Us choir directors are often working on digital projects/rehearsals with our singers/students to keep some music making going during social distancing and quarantines!
What us conductors can do is peruse great music for future rehearsing and performing. Here are six pieces appropriate for high school and college level groups by six great composers.
***Disclaimer: I am not being remunerated or even asked to promote these composers and their pieces, but I do retail music with MusicSpoke, from which comes one of these pieces.***
Linda Kachelmeier – “Winds Through The Olive Trees” – https://www.lindakachelmeier.com/works/winds-through-olive-trees
Here is a hauntingly beautiful Christmas piece for flute and SATB. It divides the choir into SSA-SATB for a substantial part of the piece. While the vocal demand on singers is quite easy, the demand for musicality and expression needs to be high to have a most effective performance. ______________________________________________________________________________
Casey Rule – “Danny Boy” – http://notenova.com/catalog/work/danny-boy/
Here is a setting of the famous poem and tune that is quite traditional, but fresh. This setting is filled with moving parts, but with distinct moments of homo-rhythm that bring out deep feeling. I personally find it one of the most attractive SATB settings of “Danny Boy” I’ve perused. If done well, it could be deeply moving with audiences. ______________________________________________________________________________
Steven Sametz – “There is no Rose of Such Virtue” – http://notenova.com/catalog/work/there-is-no-rose-of-such-virtue/
This setting is stunning! If you have a quality Soprano soloist, this piece could be a highlight at a Christmas or Winter concert. Good balance in the choir parts will be key to making the performance effective. Interspersed between lines of the medieval poem are Latin phrases, which act as a reaction and response to the descriptions given in the poetry of Mary and the Christ Child. ______________________________________________________________________________
Timothy Paul Banks – “Little David, Play On Y’ Harp” – https://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/search.jsp?keywords=timothy+paul+banks+little+david
Here is a super fun arrangement of the well known Spiritual that has potential to bring down the house in a program as a closing or highlight piece. The chorus and verses run in a relatively straight forward, but pleasing course, which gives way to a closing section of layering and rhythmic interest. Two quality soprano soloists are required to pull off the top layers. This piece is characterized by joy and rhythmic vitality. ______________________________________________________________________________
Kurt Knecht – “Esa Enai” – https://musicspoke.com/downloads/esa-einai/
This is a moving setting of the first four verses of Psalm 121 in Hebrew. A mournful triumph is brought out by what ultimately seems like a piece-long crescendo (not literally, but in intense build up). The piece, while powerful, is actually quite accessible. It is written for TTBB as well as SATB. ______________________________________________________________________________
Michael Kaulkin – “Fare Ye Well My Darlin'” – https://www.swirlymusic.org/music/choral-music/michael-kaulkin-fare-ye-well-my-darlin-for-satb-choir-a-cappella/
Here is a moving Civil War farewell that could be a deep emotional moment in a program. Some vocal dexterity is required to accurately navigate large jumps into the passaggio from (especially) bass and alto parts. Understanding and emotional connection to the text by the singers will be key in presenting this beautifully written piece most effectively. ______________________________________________________________________________
If you have not done so, I would like to invite you to peruse and listen to some of my available scores here.
Click here to receive to my email newsletter about the latest blog posts and great repertoire!
- One Thing Have I Desired, SATB – second time in the top five, and second time being first overall! 2016 = 1
2. Sing To The Lord A New Song, Children’s Choir, – first time in the top five!
3. We’re Going Home, SATB- first time in the top five!
4. Soon One Day, SATB, TTBB – Top five for the fifth year in a row! 2017 = 3, 2016 = 5, 2015 = 3, 2-14 = 2
5. Our Lamb Is Born, SATB – first time in the top five!
To see the “Top Five” posts from the previous two years click here: 2017 Top Five, 2016 Top Five, 2014 Top Five, 2015 Top Five
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If you have not done so, I would like to invite you to click here to receive to my email newsletter about the latest blog posts and great repertoire!
With the national ACDA conference nearly here, many conductors are looking at, or about to look at new repertoire. I invite you to consider these four pieces by four talented composers.
It is important to remember to use your conductor’s ear when perusing scores and listening to recordings of these pieces. Not every recording is great, even though the pieces are. I have found many terrific pieces that don’t have great recordings by “cleaning up” the sound and imagining them as they could and should sound. Click here for tips on finding great artist owned repertoire.
***Disclaimer: I am not being remunerated or even asked to promote these composers and their pieces, but I do retail music with MusicSpoke and Sheetmusicplus, from which come two of these pieces.***
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Timothy Paul Banks
Piece: i am a little church SATB(MusicSpoke: full perusal score and recording)
Personal Website: http://www.highlandshousemusic.com/
Here is a charming and touching setting of an e.e. cummings poem. It has a sense of simplicity and straight forwardness that fits the subject. The piece could work well as a heart-piece that invokes nostalgia in listeners. The message reminds us that greatness is found in humbly being oneself and filling the calling God has placed upon us, whether large or small.
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Susan Conant
Piece: Sing We Now Of Christmas SATB (sheetmusicplus: partial perusal score and full recording)
Personal Website: http://www.conantpoint.com/susanconant.htm
For choir directors, anytime is a good time to consider holiday piece. I conducted this piece with my high school advanced choir at Christmas time in 2017. It was one of the most fun pieces I have ever taught and conducted, and one of the favorite pieces for Christmas for many of my singers. It is accompanied by Irish band (whistle, one or two fiddles, bodhran, and guitar). The ordering process is a flat rate, but somewhat confusing, especially off of sheetmusicplus.com. I ordered the piece off of Susan’s website, which was more clear about reproduction permission.
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Jennifer Durham
Piece: Shenandoah SSA (Swirly Music: full perusal score and recording)
Here is a very accessible, but artistic setting of the well known folk song for treble choir. It uses tension and release in the form of musical suspensions between parts to create emotional affect. This could be an ideal piece for middle, high school, or children’s choirs, but has appeal enough to still be interesting to more mature groups.
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Paul Busselberg
Piece: Sweet Rivers Of Redeeming Love SATB, SSA, or Unison (JW Pepper – My Score)
Personal Website: https://www.sharpemusicpress.org/
This piece has a lovely lilt with a folksy spiritual feel. The accompaniment clearly depicts a flowing river. Like many texts coming from the Great Awakening, imagery of longing for heaven is compared to the crossing of the Jordan River. I think this piece could work well with a college or festival choir as a gentle, but thrilling closer, if one wishes to finish a concert in a more contemplative feel.
______________________________________________________________________________ I hope this has been helpful and informative!
If you have not done so, I would like to invite you to click here to receive to my email newsletter about the latest blog posts and great repertoire!
- My Prayer, TTBB – in the top five for the fourth year in a row! 2016 = 2, 2015 = 1, 2014 =1
- Glory, SATB – first time in the top five! The video is from my wife and my wedding in 2010.
3. Soon One Day, SATB and TTBB – in the top five for the fourth year in a row! 2016 = 5, 2015 =3, 2014 =2
4. Sweet Little Jesus, Children’s choir – first time in the top five!
5. Run To The Manger, Children’s choir – first time in the top five!
To see the “Top Five” posts from the previous two years click here: 2016 Top Five, 2014 Top Five, 2015 Top Five
Sometime ago (a couple of months), a popular choral composer ignited a firestorm by blasting artist owned (self-published) choral compositions on social media. He suggested that there was a lack of quality among the artist owned pieces and that there was a need for major publishing houses to act as curators, separating bad from good. The resulting “discussion” was predictably volatile. The composer removed the post, and has not referenced it since, and so I am leaving his name anonymous. However, his premise was, in my opinion, faulty, and likely based on minimal acquaintance with artist owned choral repertoire.
Before one casts off the possibility of searching for artist owned music as not worth one’s time, remember how much wading you do to find gems from popular choral publishing companies. The search is worth it. Over the past 10 years, where I’ve programmed significant amounts of both “traditionally” published and artist owned choral pieces, I’ve found the percentage of success in the search has been quite comparable between the two.
For many conductors, the issue is how to efficiently find the great artist owned music. Following are a few tips.
- First, believe great artist owned choral music exists. Almost every piece, whether artist owned or traditionally published, was at one time artist owned. A very select few pieces were guaranteed traditional publication before they were completed. If it exists, you can encounter it. While this is logical, on a practical level, this requires a philosophical shift for some conductors.
- Make use of social media to encounter great pieces (whether traditionally published or artist owned). For example, repertoire questions and searches in Facebook groups for choir conductors yield myriads of suggestions, much of which is artist owned. Take time to peruse the pieces suggested.
- Frequent artist owned choral music distributing sites such as MusicSpoke and Swirly Music, which are loaded with great pieces from great composers. One can also find quality sheet music on JW Pepper’s MyScore and Sheetmusicplus’s SMP press, although one has to wade through a much higher percentage of junk to find the gems.*
- Search the websites of composers you like. Many composers, even those who are traditionally published, will have many high quality artist owned pieces that they are retailing exclusively on their own sites or that are linked to an artist owned sheet music retailer.
- Have conversations with composers at music conferences. Ask for sample scores in a particular voicing. Composers typically love to share their material with interested conductors.
- Follow this blog by subscribing to the newsletter. (This is admittedly a shameless plug, take it or leave it) I regularly search for great artist owned choral pieces, write about and link to purchase pages. I generally pick pieces that have full perusal scores and recordings for ease of use by searching conductors.
*disclaimer: I retail sheet music with MusicSpoke and Sheetmusicplus.
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I hope this has been helpful and informative!
If you have not done so, I would like to invite you to click here to receive to my email newsletter about the latest blog posts and great repertoire!
I love finding and sharing great choral repertoire. These five artist owned SATB pieces from five composers would work well in a large number of choral settings.
It is important to remember to use your conductor’s ear when perusing scores and listening to recordings of these pieces. Not every recording is great, even though the pieces are. I have found many terrific pieces that don’t have great recordings by “cleaning up” the sound and imagining them as could and should sound.
***Disclaimer: I am not being remunerated or even asked to promote these composers and their pieces, but I do retail music with MusicSpoke, from which come two of these pieces.***
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Andrew Marshall
Piece: Jesus Is Mine (MusicSpoke: full perusal score and recording)
Personal Website: https://www.andrewstcmarshall.net/
“Jesus is Mine” is a very skillfully arranged Jamaican Spiritual that would be an exciting concert closer. The piece would work well for college or advanced high school choirs.
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Ethan McGrath
Piece: The Invitation (Swirly Music: full perusal score and recording)
Personal Website: http://www.ethanmcgrath.com/index.html
Ethan is a very talented composer that is consistently writing quality material. “The Invitation” is beautiful, and sets a compelling Biblical text dealing with the human need of rest for the soul. The universality of this need combined with a lovely setting makes this piece a great fit for variety of performance settings.
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Braeden Ayres
Piece: Song For The Prairie Sky (MusicSpoke: full perusal score and recording)
Personal Website: http://www.braedenayres.com/
This piece combines famous folk tunes, including “Shenandoah,” but in a very unique way. The effect is of a duet of two lovers separated by great distance, but singing to and longing for one another simultaneously.
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Vahram Sarkissian
Piece: Tribulationes (Sheetmusicplus: partial perusal score and full recording)
Personal Website: http://vahramsarkissian.com/
Here is a very meaty, meaningful, “wow” piece for an advanced choir. I would say it is appropriate for college level and up in most cases. It has won a first and third prize in two composition competitions.
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Jennifer Durham
Piece: Little David Play On Your Harp (Swirly Music: full perusal score and recording)
This is a delightful arrangement of the Spiritual for SATB and piano four hands. It is fun and accessible, but not at all cheesy and would be interesting for choirs at a variety of levels.
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I hope this has been helpful and informative!
If you have not done so, I would like to invite you to click here to receive to my email newsletter about the latest blog posts and great repertoire!
Choir conductors know that planning for the holiday season happens especially in the Summer. I thought I would highlight Christmas SATB repertoire available on this site. Click the title of each piece to access a perusal score and purchase page.
*Conductors may print a complimentary perusal score of each piece.*
Our Lamb Is Born is a lush, mostly homorhythmic, unaccompanied piece. The imagery of the poem (written by my wife Heidi Sandvik) is stunningly evocative and beautiful. The music serves and evokes the atmosphere of the text.
The Angel Chorus is a warm and beautiful unaccompanied piece that climaxes with an “Alleluia” section and “Glory to God in the highest…”.
A Savior Is Born Today is a lively and rhythmic unaccompanied piece that is an invitation to all to come worship the Christ child.
Glory To God In The Highest is a very exciting and lively unaccompanied piece. It makes extensive use of canonic device. The effect is dazzling and jubilant.
Away In A Manger is a tender arrangement of the well known text with piano accompaniment.
The Angels And The Shepherds is a lively Spiritual that sets a poetic narrative. My HS Touring Choir premiered this piece several years ago and absolutely loved the piece.
If you wish to view a list of all available Christmas pieces click here.
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I hope this has been helpful and informative!
If you have not done so, I would like to invite you to click here to receive to my email newsletter about the latest blog posts and great repertoire!
“Never upstage the choir!” I heard these words spoken by Henry Leck to a group of singers during a National ACDA children’s honor choir rehearsal (Chicago, 2011). The choir was incorporating some non-choreographed movement into a particular piece, thus causing the words of caution. One young man, I would guess age 10 or so, did upstage the choir by losing focus and going wild with his movements. Mr. Leck stopped the choir, issued a gentle but firm reproof then resumed the practice. He was forced to stop again by the excited singer, and called him out again. His message was clear, you’ve upstaged the choir twice now, don’t do it again. I don’t remember the young man forcing the choir to stop again.
Many of us conductors are composers also, and frequently write music for our singers. This can be an incredible blessing, but it is important to remember, “never upstage the choir!”
A performance is not about bringing attention to ourselves, although it does reflect positively on us. The key word, in the previous statement is reflect. I suggest the focus should be on the mission of the choir. Maybe it is a specific mission such as bringing glory to God, bringing awareness to a cause, or something more broad such as just having fun, Christmas, Spring, etc…. As the mission of the choir is fulfilled, a positive reflection will be cast on all the participants in the music making experience, including conductor-composers.
Conductors who compose and bring their compositions to their choirs give them a rich gift. But remember, while conductors and composers deserve credit in performance, never lose the mission.
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I hope this has been helpful and informative!
If you have not done so, I would like to invite you to click here to receive to my email newsletter about the latest blog posts and great repertoire!
Disclaimer: The following predictions are related to current trends in choral sheet music publishing and retailing and their projected extension and influence. I think the predictions are logical, plausible, and highly likely, but they are not based on scientific data collection, they are my thoughts based on personal observation. Enjoy!
1. Composers will keep at least 50% of the copyright of their own piece.
I think a shift is coming, and in many cases (though not yet mainstream) is here. Composers will retain ownership of their pieces, or at least 50% ownership. Self-publishing is growing fast, in large part because composers want to retain the copyright of their pieces. However, the perks of publishing houses are still appealing to composers. I think a coming change with traditional publishers wishing to stay afloat will feature composers entering into contracts with publishing houses that share the copyright, giving exclusive retailing rights for a set period of time (perhaps indefinitely depending on conditions). 100% of the copyright will revert back to the composer if the publishing house goes out of business or decides to discontinue printing the piece (more on this later).
2. Composer sheet music royalties will increase significantly.
Self-publishing and retailing pieces through music distribution websites are giving composers a much higher percentage of their sheet music sales. Traditional publishing rates have been around 10%, but the alternative retailing options typically award composers 40% or much more (and often all of the mechanical and performance royalties). Additionally, most composers are largely doing their own engraving these days as well and a significantly larger portion of their own promotion, so one of the labor costs to traditional publishers is being reduced. With these factors playing in, composers are increasingly likely to seek out options that give them a higher percentage of the cut.
3. Permanently Out Of Print will cease to exist.
With the digital age, this should be a obvious. If a publisher decides to discontinue a piece, the copyright (and thus ownership) will revert back to the composer, who will be able to sell it personally. Publishers and composers may have an agreement that a piece will be sold digitally even if the publisher chooses to no longer print the piece, and so pieces should never disappear.
4. There will be a continued increase of self-publishing composers.
The composer advantages for self publishing are obvious including: composers own the copyright; composers get high percentage of the payment for sheet music sales; compositions never go out of print; composers receive performance/mechanical royalties as the publisher as well as composer.
Self-publishing is relevant and here to stay. In the past, the disadvantages to keeping one’s music artist owned have been significant, including the inability of most composers to get many pieces in connection with large amounts of conductors and performers. This is being mitigated largely by the interconnections of choral musicians through ACDA and other organizations, the internet, and music distributing websites.
The internet has given composers the ability to more easily connect with conductors, build relationships, and possibly have pieces performed. Composers can easily retail pieces from their personal websites. However it can be extremely tedious for conductors to visit dozens, if not hundreds, of personal websites to purchase repertoire.
There are fast growing solutions such as the concept of a composer consortium. In it, a group of composers band together and pool resources to promote their pieces to larger audience than they could reach on their own. A great example of this (and perhaps the model for the future) is the Northwest Choral Publishers, which features four excellent composers who have a mix of artist owned and traditionally published works. I think the future will see an increase in the composer consortium concept.
Music distributing sites that sell artist owned music especially mitigate this drawback (inability to reach large swaths of conductors rapidly). Online distributing companies/services like MusicSpoke, Swirly Music, and even JWPepper and Sheetmusicplus are creating hubs of artist owned music that conductors can search to find quality repertoire. I believe we will see more and more high quality composers retailing their music through these venues. Below I give a more detailed description of these four distributing websites and their relevance to the future of music publishing.
5. Composers will need to market their own music.
This is already true for almost all successful composers, but the need will continue to increase. I think the major factor besides the obvious increase of self-publishing (artist owned music must largely be artist own promoted) is the fact their are so many good composers these days. To be able to get one’s music into the hands of conductors, composers will have to be intentional about making connections. It will be important for us composers to have a personal code of decency and polite conduct when making connections with conductors. It will also be important for us conductors to be open to personal connections with composers, as this may be the only way to find some of the great repertoire that will be available in the future.
A Review of Four Artist Owned Distributing Sites Relevant To The Predictions
***Disclaimer: While I am not remunerated for these reviews by any of these websites, I do have scores retailing with MusicSpoke and Sheetmusicplus.***
In my opinion, MusicSpoke and Swirly Music are the two best distributing websites for artist owned repertoire. The quality of scores on these sites parallels that which I find from highly reputed publishers.
MusicSpoke is a for profit distributing company that is highly innovative and I believe is the leader in setting many of the future trends for sheet music distribution. It provides vetted music for it’s buyers, but it does not vet compositions, rather the vetting takes place on the level of the composer. Composers demonstrate their quality, and then control which pieces are retailed through MusicSpoke. They also regularly have booths at conventions, have reading sessions of their music, and make connections with conductors on behalf of their composers.
Swirly Music does not technically vet their composers, rather they are a not for profit service that composers use. Composers upload a few pieces for free, and then pay a very small fee per title after that. It is a very composer friendly system that is used by a high number of quality composers. Their service allows for digital score purchasing and quality printed scores. They also promote their composers at booths during music conventions.
JWPepper and Sheetmusicplus have some incredible artist owned choral pieces being retailed through their website services, but it is not vetted music. This means a person may have to sift through a lot of poorly written, poorly edited, or poorly presented music to find the gems, not dissimilar to sifting through loads of junk on cpdl (although more efficient). I think JWPepper and Sheetmusicplus are ultimately hoping that quality pieces will sift themselves up in the search rankings on their sites by virtue of the number of sales they incur. In theory, this should eventually leave a mix of traditionally published and artist owned pieces whenever someone searches for music on the sites.
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I hope this has been helpful and informative!
If you have not done so, I would like to invite you to click here to receive to my email newsletter about the latest blog posts and great repertoire!
I love sharing excellent choral repertoire! Here are five artist owned SATB pieces that would make great additions to one of your choral programs.
Remember to use your conductor’s ear when perusing scores and listening to recordings of the pieces. Not every recording is great, even if the piece is. I have found many terrific pieces that don’t have great recordings by “cleaning up” the sound and imagining them as could be.
***Disclaimer: I am not being remunerated or even asked to promote these composers and their pieces, but I do retail music with MusicSpoke, from which come three of these pieces.***
Joy Decoursey-Porter
Piece: Miserere Mei Deus (MusicSpoke: full perusal score and recording)
Miserere Mei Deus sets portions of Psalm 51. It is not the usual beautifully morose interpretation that focuses on sorrow expressed in repentance. Rather, this piece seems to musically focus on the idea of joy in forgiveness which gives way to praise (an aspect also shared in the Psalm’s text, but often overlooked musically). The piece is thoroughly triumphant and joyous, though not bubbly, in a deep and almost solemn way. It would make a great festival piece (such as an all-state) as well as being a dynamic addition in most choral programs. I personally find this piece very moving.
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Kevin Padworski
Piece: The Cloud (MusicSpoke: full perusal score and recording)
Personal Website: https://kevinpadworski.com/
I met Kevin at the 2017 TMEA convention. We both had a pieces included in the MusicSpoke reading session for advanced choirs (he with a treble piece titled “Pine Needles,” me with “Soon One Day” – links at the bottom of this post). After the convention, I checked out his music and became acquainted with his piece, “The Cloud.” It is scored for SSAATTBB + celesta and piano. I find this piece to be very effective in idea painting (akin to word painting, but creating an expression of the meaning of the text in its totality). One could easily picture an afternoon looking at the sky, watching clouds drift by. It would be a great fit in a nature themed program or in a days of creation themed program.
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Ross C. Bernhardt
Piece: The Gift Disguised (Swirly Music: full perusal score and recording)
Personal Website: http://www.bernhardtmusic.com/
I encountered Dr. Bernhardt’s writing while perusing Swirly Music’s mixed choir titles. He has several compelling pieces on that website. “The Gift Disguised,” which won the 2010 Ithaca choral composition competition, is a sensitive, homorhythmic setting of a meaningful text. With good intonation, choral balance, and diction, this piece could be the deep/profound piece in a program that really makes listeners think.
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Emily Feld
Piece: Ubi Caritas (MusicSpoke: full perusal score and recording)
Personal Website: https://composersforum.org/members/directory/emily-feld
The “Ubi Caritas” text is usually set in a beautiful, solemn way, often hearkening back to the feel of the original chant. The text, however, fits a variety of interpretations. Emily chose a jubilant and dance-like interpretation, which I find delightful and effective. Precise intonation is key for the choir that includes this piece in a program, especially in the staccato sections (of course every piece demands precise intonation, but choirs should know their limitations, and good intonation may be more difficult for some choirs on this one). However, the choir that does this piece well will delight their audience. I think this piece could fit many places in a program, including being used as a concert opener.
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Alexis Renee Ford
Piece: Christus Factus Est (Swirly Music: full perusal score and recording)
Here is an absolutely gorgeous setting of the “Christus Factus Est” text (Philippians 2:8-9). If your choir will perform in a cathedral or in a church or concert hall with excellent live acoustics, do this piece. Performed well, it has an almost crystal glass quality. Every program should have a piece that is just beautiful (or several pieces). This piece is just that, stunningly beautiful.
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I hope you have found this insightful and helpful. If you like one of the pieces, be sure to peruse other works by that composer!
If you have not done so, I would like to invite you to click here to receive to my email newsletter about the latest blog posts and great repertoire!
***Pine Needles, by Kevin Padworski; Soon One Day, by Michael Sandvik – featured in the MusicSpoke reading session at TMEA 2017***