In my humble opinion, there can never be an overabundance of great text settings for choir. The text of a piece is usually the first thing I notice, and I have a special fascination for how different composers treat the same text with individual senses of meaning, nuance, and texture. This week’s post will focus […]
Music Within Reach
Music Within Reach: Great Pieces for Your Smaller Men’s Choir
Many of us with smaller or limited men’s choruses are often searching for music in no more than two or three parts. The challenge here is that sometimes such music sounds too simple or is not “meaty” enough for our singers. This week’s post will glance at three pieces for men’s chorus that are musically […]
Music Within Reach: Classics for Women’s Chorus
There is such a tremendous wealth of newly published music on the scene that sometimes it can be easy to forget about the classics. There are also many pieces from the last few hundred years that have slipped through the cracks, and now editors are actively seeking them out and publishing them for today’s choirs. […]
Music Within Reach: SAB for High School
Experience has taught me that people often hear “high school” and assume that you are working with SATB choirs (or SATB divisi). Several factors contribute to the ability levels at which students arrive in high school, not the least of which are quality of feeder programs and whether or not prerequisites or auditions are required. […]
Music Within Reach: SAB for Adults
News flash: Sometimes community and church choirs can be short on tenors and basses. I know this is brand-new information for many of you (and I hope by now you have noted the sarcasm). Something many of us often struggle to find is qualitative SAB music that is challenging enough for the experienced singers we […]
Music Within Reach: High School Planning for Next Year
Many of us are now in the throes of the last couple weeks of school. Concerts are over, the students are restless (the teachers are even more so!). As I wind down the year, I make the time pass by beginning to plan for next school year. I have 30 seniors graduating that will leave […]