I am always looking for SATB music. I have a small select ensemble at my high school and a large mixed church choir at a Unitarian Universalist church. Many times, I am able to use some of the same music for both school and church. However, for a number of reasons, I struggle with doing […]
Music Within Reach
Music Within Reach: “Repurposing” Soloist Music for Choirs
If you have a small choir, you know that it is sometimes necessary to think a little outside the box in order to find pieces that are accessible to your ensemble. This post will focus on movements from cantatas and other extended works originally written for soloists that you can also “repurpose” for your choir. […]
Music Within Reach: Three Pieces for Women’s Choirs
There is a lot of great music out there for women’s choirs, but sometimes you have to dig hard to find pieces that are perfectly suited to the musical needs and to the voices of your individual choir. My high school women’s choir is a decent size, but because of school scheduling, I can only […]
Music Within Reach: Two Pieces for Men’s Choirs
One of the biggest challenges I face is finding attainable music for my high school men’s choirs. I imagine I am not alone in this struggle. There is quite a bit of TTBB music out there, but I suspect many of us do not have men’s choirs large enough or advanced enough to sing much […]
Music Within Reach: Two Great Text Settings
Chief among the things that differentiate choral music from instrumental music is the use of text. I spend a lot of time reminding my choirs of this, as I am sure many of you do. Because it is our job to convey textual meaning to an audience, I think it is important that we look […]
Music Within Reach: Accessible Music for Holy Week and Easter
I imagine that if you are a church musician you have Holy Week and Easter planned already. (It is next week, after all.) But in the spirit of the season, as it is indeed the inspiration for some of the most beautiful music ever written, I thought it would be fitting to share some very […]