I performed "Revelations" by Bradley Ellingboe this fall with my high school choir.  It is a great work.  20 minutes, brass quintet, timpani and organ.  My students still talk about the experience and how they liked the music alot.

Dear Ms. Farenga:

 

I was recently hired to coach

the Dearborn (MI) High School

concert choir in their preparation

of Carmina Burana--additionally,

I coached the teacher in conducting

the piece.

 

The students were genuinely

excited about the entire process--

e.g., language/pronunciation,

the rhythmic aspects, melodic/

thematic elements, etc--and were

ecstatic about their performance--

one boy said to me, "I feel like I

have really accomplished something"

by doing the piece.

 

The teacher cut a few of the

movements--brought in a soprano

(former student) and a baritone

(she did not do the tenor mvts)--

did the two pianos and percussion

version--the pianists were her

accompanist and a hired professional--

but the percussionists were members

of the HS band/orchestra--they

were quite good--so the production

costs were quite low.

 

Domine ad adjuvandum me by Padre Martini, or Regina Coeli by Mozart come immediately to mind.  There are many others. 

Hello, Justine,

 

If they are advanced, they could probably handle this work of mine, which works with a good pianist:

 

 

When I think of masterworks, I think of larger-scale works by major composers, especially since you say you want to expose your students to some of the "great works for large chorus."

 

While nearly all "choral masterworks" are meant to be accompanied by orchestra, Brahms wrote a two-piano accompaniment for his Requiem that works quite well. Schubert's Mass in G also works reasonably well with keyboard, as do many of the short masses by Mozart. There are masses by Rheinberger and Liszt with organ accompaniment alone, and Bruckner's masses could also work with organ. The Fauré and Durufle Requiems are often done with organ accompaniment. Of course, every conductor has to choose where to draw the line in terms of sacrifices made by using keyboard accompaniment instead of orchestra. You could perform nearly any major work with piano accompaniment, but who would want to? :-)

 

Good luck with the search!

There are some good suggestions here, but when I hear "high school choir" I don't think Brahms or Stravinsky. (at least not at the high school I went to!)

 

I'll second the suggestion of one of Mozart's "Regina Coeli" settings, but really push for Schuber's "Mass in G."  It's meant to be done with a small string ensemble and organ anyway.  If you can get the strings, great.  If not, the organ alone works just fine.  Haydn's organ mass would be good, too.  John Rutter's edition of Faure's "Requiem" is a good choice for the instrumentation you suggest would be available.  

Mozart's Coronation Mass was great for my students.  In high school I also enjoyed performing and accompanying Rutter's Gloria.

The Vivaldi Gloria comes to mind first.  Other very accessible gems include the Haydn Te Deum (Mozart's is good too, but I prefer Haydn's) and Mozart Regina Coeli.  Just did the Pergolesi (Durante) Magnificat which was very successful. 

Justine,

A great work that has a reduced orchestral accompaniment that works well on the piano is the Brahms "Schicksalslied" (Song of Fate.)  I have accompanied it three times (once with the high school prepartory choir at Westminster Choir College) and it was very successful.  Good luck!

 

Jackson Borges

I have some experience with this and here are some that worked well for me:

 

Mass in G - Schubert

Rejoice in the Lamb - Britten (organist with chops)

Chichester Psalms - Bernstein (organ, percussion, harp) This is especially great if you have a 6th grade boy who can sing the solo

Gloria - Vivaldi

Beatus Vir - Monteverdi

Domine ad adjuvandum me festina - Martini

Mass of the Children - Rutter You can do this with your entire program.  Have your mixed choir serve as the adult choir and if you have strong younger girls, they and/or some of your middle school girls can sing the three-part children's chorus.

 

I hope this helps.  Kudos to you for wanting to stretch your kids with a major work.

 

Tod

 

 

May I add J.S.Bach to the mix?  He has written more than a few cantatas that would be appropriate to a good HS choir - Wachet auf! BWV 140, and the Magnificat, BWV 243 come to mind immediately, with others too numerous to list.

 

Tony