Planning for fall programs
Contributing Editor: Jonathan Campbell
“Hymn of Ancient Lands”
Joe Twist
SATB, unaccompanied
Difficulty:
Twist’s “Hymn of Ancient Lands” is a macaronic setting of a 7th-century hymn sung in Old English, Latin, and modern English. Scored for soprano solo and divisi chorus, “Hymn of Ancient Lands” is a rich and satisfying musical journey. The Old English alone is sung by the soloist, while the choir sings the two translations, brilliantly treating the same text in three different languages and interpreting the hymn with contrasting musical ideas. Moments of intense, prayerful reflection give way to bursts of energy, rhythmic intensity, and dance-like passages. “Hymn of Ancient Lands” is technically challenging, but eminently musical.
“They Brought a Joyful Song”
Isaac Lovdahl
SATB (div.) a cappella
Difficulty:
A beautiful and substantial contribution to the Christmas repertoire, “They Brought a Joyful Song” tells the story of the wonderful gifts brought to the newborn Christ. The most amazing gift is the divine and mysterious song of the angels, imagined gloriously in Lovdahl’s score. Sustained passages of wordless chorus and divided voices add to the richness of the piece.
“The Gift to Sing”
Reginal Wright
SATB (div.), piano
Difficulty:
“The Gift to Sing” tells a story anyone can relate to: from the mists of sadness and difficulty, singing helps us find joy and sunlight again. Wright’s piece is divided into two sections. The first section sets the emotional stage of tension and difficulty. In the second section the tension is relieved with cascading voices calling all people to share the gift of song.
“She Marries a Violinist”
Martha Hill Duncan
SSAA, unaccompanied.
Difficulty:
“My violinist is a darkened boat, and I am what I have become, a duet polishing the hard lake of departure.”
“There is Sweet Music”
Matthew Culloton
SSAA and piano, SATB and piano, or TTBB and piano.
Difficulty:
Matthew Culloton’s “What Sweeter Music” is a new, fresh setting of the famous text by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Seamless transitions, supple color and key changes, recurring lyric themes, and a lovely homophonic texture make this an effective and reflective work. Although the piano part is independent (and filled with lush chords and coloristic effects) it remains supportive and helpful to the singers.
“Always Singing”
Dale Warland
SATB, unaccompanied.
Difficulty:
“There was such a lot of singing and this was my pleasure, too.”
“Always Singing,” performed by the Luther College Nordic Choir with guest conductor Jeffrey Douma.
“A Depth We Cannot Sound”
Timothy Takach
SATB, percussion.
Difficulty:
In “ A Depth We Cannot Sound,” Takach uses a combination of gorgeous homophonic lines alongside accessible extended vocal techniques to explore this text about the parts of nature whose beauty extends beyond science. Two percussionists on vibraphone and marimba use rhythmic ostinati and arpeggios to propel the motion of the piece forward. A lush, homophonic section grounds the middle while melismatic passages demand long vocal lines for the final statements.
About the composers
Australian composer/arranger Joe Twist is one of the most ‘in demand’ music creators in Australia and abroad, straddling film music and concert music arenas. Twist has a wealth of experience in choral music as both a singer and composer, receiving numerous commissions and performances of his music from choirs in Australia and around the world, including The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, Chanticleer, Voces8, The Idea Of North, The Young New Yorkers’ Chorus, L.A. Choral Lab, Sydney Chamber Choir, The Australian Voices, Gondwana Voices, Adelaide Chamber Singers and many others. Twist has worked for decades as a professional chorister in premier church choirs in Australia and the United States. Twist has received wide acclaim for his music for film and television including the successful animated series ‘Bluey’ on Disney Junior, as well as arrangements and orchestrations for many major motion pictures produced in Hollywood. He has created music for many renowned international artists and ensembles such as Moby and The Wiggles, and his work have been performed and recorded by the world’s greatest orchestras, including collaborations with The Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Colorado Symphony, The Hollywood Scoring Orchestra and all major Symphony Orchestras in Australia. Twist’s works appear on numerous commercial recordings including Twist’s own album Dancing With Somebody.
Isaac Lovdahl is a composer, conductor, educator, and vocalist currently based in Fargo, ND. He directed high school, church, and community choirs in Minnesota after graduating from Concordia College in 2015, and is now pursuing a DMA in Choral Conducting at North Dakota State University where he was named the first ever Challey School of Music Choral Conducting Fellow. Along with his doctoral studies, Lovdahl also directs the campus tenor-bass ensemble (The Statesmen of NDSU) and teaches music theory. Additionally, he serves as the director of music at the Lutheran Church of Christ the King in Moorhead, MN.
Reginal Wright is a clinician, composer, conductor, and educator from Arlington, Texas. He currently teaches at Mansfield High School in Mansfield Texas. As a 20-year educator, Reginal’s choirs frequently earn Sweepstakes and Best of Class Awards at Local, State and National Festivals. His choirs have also been featured at the Texas Music Educators and Southwest ACDA Conventions. As a conductor, Reginal enjoys conducting choirs and ensembles across the United States. Reginal is also a highly sought after adjudicator / clinician on the Middle and High School levels. Reginal has published compositions with Graphite Publishing, Hal Leonard, Carl Fischer, BriLee, and Santa Barbara Music Publishing Companies.
Martha Hill Duncan received a diploma in Vocal Music in the first graduating class of the Houston High School for Performing and Visual Arts and a Bachelors of Music in Composition from the University of Texas at Austin. Her composition teachers have included Donald Grantham, Robert Palmer and Sam Dolin; her piano teachers have included Gregory Allen, Danielle Martin, Errol Haun and Trudi Borden. Her ongoing interest in vocal music and recognition of her adopted country, Canada, has culminated in a cycle of songs for voice and piano entitled Singing From the Northland: A Celebration of Canadian Poetry in Song. Three of these songs, “Severance,” “Grey Rocks and Greyer Seas” and “Rainfall” were chosen as finalists and performed in the 2005 Diana Barnhart American Song Competition in Wayne, PA. As director of the Kingston, Ontario women’s choir She Sings!, she has also produced several works for treble choir, many based on native Canadian texts, including “Song of the Stars,” “Lady Icicle” and “Lullaby of the Iroquois.” These three songs were performed on May 11, 2007 by the The New York Treble Singers in their concert entitled, American Voices. Her “Star Prayers” for SSA and Piano was a co-winner in the 2005 Ruth Watson Henderson Choral Composition Competition. Other choirs that have commissioned her work include Aurora, Melos Chamber Choir, Pro Arte Singers, and the Young Choristers Limestone.
Prior to becoming the Founding Artistic Director and Conductor of The Singers, Matthew Culloton was a member of The Dale Warland Singers, having served as Music Adviser to Dale Warland, Assistant Conductor, Bass Section Leader, and Music Librarian. From 2000-2006, Matthew was Director of Choral Activities at Hopkins High School, overseeing a choral program of six performing ensembles. His Hopkins Concert Choir performed at the 2002 and 2004 MN ACDA Fall Conventions. The Concert Choir held masterclasses with The King’s Singers, Alice Parker, and numerous visiting composers. In November, 2004, Matthew was presented with the 2004 MN ACDA Outstanding Young Choral Conductor of the Year Award. In the fall of 2003, he was the recipient of the VocalEssence/ACDA of Minnesota Creative Programming Award for his work at Hopkins High School. As a composer, Matthew has been commissioned by the Dale Warland Singers, Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester (MN), Ames Chamber Artists, Chanson, the MN All-State Choirs (2005 Men’s Choir), and numerous high school and collegiate choirs. His works are published by Graphite Publishing, Hinshaw Music, Mark Foster Music (Shawnee), Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Kjos Music, and Odhecaton.com. He is co-editor of the “Matthew and Michael Culloton Choral Series” with Santa Barbara Publishing Company. He is also a contributing writer to “Teaching Music Performance through Literature, Vol. 2” published by G.I.A., Chicago.
Dale Warland, celebrated American musician, has made an indelible impression on the landscape of contemporary choral music both nationally and internationally. During his time with the Dale Warland Singers, he shaped a vocal ensemble known for its exquisite sound, technical finesse, and stylistic range. From that platform, Warland not only mastered the traditional repertoire, but also commissioned over 270 new choral works. The music world bestowed its highest honors on Warland, the most recent including the Weston Noble Award for Lifetime Achievement in Choral Music (2010) from the American Choral Director’s Association; the Cultural Leadership Citation Award from Yale University (2010); the Robert Shaw Award in Choral Music (2007) from the American Choral Directors Association. Other prestigious awards include: a Grammy nomination for Walden Pond; the ASCAP Victor Herbert Award; the McKnight Distinguished Artist Award and the Michael Korn Founder’s Award and others.
Reviewed as “gorgeous” (Washington Post) and “stunning” (Lawrence Journal-World), the music of Timothy C. Takach has risen fast in the concert world. Applauded for his melodic lines and rich, intriguing harmonies, Takach has received commissions from various organizations including the the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, St. Olaf Band, Cantus, Pavia Winds, Lorelei Ensemble, VocalEssence, the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, The Rose Ensemble, and numerous high school and university choirs. His compositions have been performed on A Prairie Home Companion, The Boston Pops holiday tour, multiple All-State and festival programs and at venues such as the Library of Congress, Kennedy Center and Royal Opera House Muscat. Takach has received grants from the American Composers Forum, Meet the Composer, Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and ASCAP.
Our Contributing Editor
Jonathan Campbell received his B.A. from Luther College in 1998, a Master of Sacred Music degree from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota in 2002, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in choral conducting in 2015 at North Dakota State University. Jon is founder and artistic director of the Minnesota Renaissance Choir, and is currently Director of Music at Zion Lutheran Church, Anoka, Minnesota. His compositions are available from leading publishers.
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