(Each week we look at one or two of the best choral works posted in the Composition Showcase here on ChoralNet. This is where we store a treasure trove of works that your choirs will love to sing and your audiences will love to hear.)
Autumn by Dustin Oldenburg SSATB a cappella
Level: High School Mixed Choir, Advanced Middle School
Uses: Fall Concert, Open House
Program Themes: Fall, Seasons, Wind, Endings
This Piece Would Program Well With: (get a high school rock band to accompany your best pop singer at an autumn informance -or arrange for your choir ) Forever Autumn by Jeff Wayne available at JWPepper or Sheet Music Plus
Sometimes a text you find speaks to the way you are feeling just at the moment you are feeling it. Dustin Oldenburg wrote the text for his piece Autumn. He must be a teacher headed back to school after a great summer. His choice of words to describe the coming autumn are very foreboding. Lines like: “The story of the summer’s DEATH is told by the colors of these hills”, and “Winter’s CURSE not far away” speak for teachers everywhere around the middle of August.
This is a nice little teaching piece, perfect for this time of year. It is short, simple and has some nice teaching materials built in. Autumn is an excellent choice for an intermediate high school mixed choir at the beginning of the year.
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