New Works from the Compose Like A Girl Series!

New Works from the
Compose Like A Girl Series

Graphite is going to present a flurry of music this month. We know how busy choral directors and singers are as new school years and seasons approach. Enjoy the depth of our library as you search for just the right piece!

Our Marketplace series Compose Like a Girl continues to produce many new pieces. Here are some of the latest. These three pieces are all concerned with space travel and celestial objects (and one “bonus” piece).

Mars in Retrograde
SSA choir and piano

Difficulty:

“Mars in Retrograde” is a 3-part vocalise for SSA and piano based on planetary motion and gravitational orbits. Composer Amy Gordon employs talea (a repeating rhythmic pattern) and color (a repeating pitch pattern) unique to each voice part as they represent the planets Venus, Earth, and Mars orbiting the sun, represented by the piano. A spacious, spiraling work perfect for incorporating agility and explorations of overtones and vowel shapes for singers.

Amy Gordon is an active composer, arranger, songwriter, and vocalist based in Los Angeles, CA. As a choral composer, she has worked with and been commissioned by numerous choirs, including being the composer-in-residence for Nova Vocal Ensemble. She has also scored numerous films and webcasts. She has a BA in Composition from Loyola Marymount University and an MM in Composition from California State University, Long Beach.

The Infinity of Space
for SSAA, S solo, piano

Difficulty:

Set over a shimmering piano accompaniment, “The Infinity of Space” explores an ever-evolving relationship with infinite abundance as the singers confront their dreams of traveling to space in different stages of life. The opening represents a childlike excitement, and the piece shifts towards optimism: faith in the unknown becomes an more intentional choice as we grow.

Ritika Bhattacharjee is a composer, pianist, and vocalist who performs in jazz combos and big bands, plays for contemporary dance productions with Ventana Ballet, and underscores fully improvised musicals at Merlin Works, The Hideout, The Fallout, and ColdTowne Theatre. Her multi-media composition portfolio includes the scores for three short films, a video game, an iOS app, a string quartet, a musical, and a symphony commission from Austin Balcones Orchestra. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2022, where she founded and served as the president and conductor of Ingeniare, the A&M Student Engineering Chorus, and served as the band leader and pianist for Binomial Rhapsody, an engineering instrumental ensemble that composed music from math equations. During her undergraduate study, she was the lead jazz vocalist for the Corps of Cadets Aggieland Orchestra, performing scores from the big-band era on tour. She currently works as a business consultant in Austin, TX, and will receive her graduate diploma in composition from the European Academy of Film Scoring in 2024.

Star Light, Star Bright
SATB div. a cappella choir

Difficulty:

Setting a familiar text, “Star Light, Star Bright” is reminiscent of a madrigal with intertwining divisi parts that weave into a shimmering kaleidoscope. This piece is perfect for ensembles ready to explore a cappella music that features shifting divisi and groupings across the ensemble. The rich harmonies and interlocking grooves will make this piece a highlight on your program.

Emily Drum (she/her) is a singer, arranger, composer, vocal producer, songwriter, and educator living in Phoenix, AZ. During her time at the University of Arizona, she became the driving force behind the award-winning a cappella group Amplified, serving as director, arranger, and producer. In addition to leading the group to historic success in the Varsity Vocals ICCA competition, she received four ‘Outstanding Arrangement’ awards for her work. Today, Emily is in high demand as a professional vocal arranger and composer. She is commissioned by high school groups, top-ranked collegiate a cappella groups, and semi-professional choirs all over the country, and her self-published arrangements have been sung all over the world, in over 15 countries spread across 5 continents. In addition to arranging and composing, Emily is also a vocal coach, producer, and member of the award-winning treble vocal quartet, Red Letter Daze. Over time, her contributions to countless vocal projects have landed her 27 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARA) nominations and awards. She is excited to continue making strides in the world of vocal music and is grateful to be featured in Graphite Publishing.

Bonus Piece!

Stars in Your Bones
SSAA, piano
Joan Szymko Music

Difficulty:

The opening chords and exuberant opening unison of “Stars in Your Bones” suggests the “big bang”— the singular explosion theorized by astronomers as the origin of our expanding universe. The piano ostinato that follows consists of a 5-note 16th-note pattern over a steady quarter-note 5/4 pulse, lending an unstable, fluctuating quality to the the lyrics: “Earth changes…” As the underlying rhythm in the accompaniment settles, the lyrical quality of the setting takes hold, building toward a galvanizing, uplifting expression of “belonging.”

More New Pieces from the Compose Like A Girl Series!

I Would Live in Your Love
Ashley Eyre
SA div., piano

Good Morning
Tara Mack
SATB a cappella 

Somewhere Right Now
Marguerite Samuel
SSAA choir and piano

Explore the rest of the Compose Like A Girl Series

Our Contributing Editor

Jonathan Campbell, BA, MSM, DMA, currently serves as Director of Music at Zion Lutheran Church, Anoka, MN., and is a Contributing Editor for Graphite Publishing. His music publishers include Augsburg Fortress, Concordia, Morningstar, GIA, Sacred Music Press, and Falls House. He won first prize in the Morningside Choral Composition Contest and was also awarded a Faith Partner’s Residency with the American Composer’s Forum. Jonathan has served many churches, conducted the Chorale of the Honors Choirs S.E. MN for eight years, and has served on the faculties of Winona State University, Augsburg University, and Pomona College.