New Recordings

Greetings colleagues,

This is a virtual choir put together by my friend, Oksana Rodak, a native Ukrainian living in the Chicago area, who conducts two children’s choirs in Chicago. (This is an English translation, with the last line sung in Ukrainian.) The children are members of an international Zoom group, put together by my colleagues throughout the world (and me). And you should join our group when we get started again in the fall.

Choirs represented (west to east by time zone):
Young Voices of Colorado, directed by Jena Dickey
Grande Prairie Children’s Choir and Spectrum Youth Choir, directed by Oksana Rodak
ChildrenSong of New Jersey, directed by Polly Murray
Grand Philharmonic Children’s Choir of Canada, directed by Andrea de Boer-Jones
Glasgow Youth Choir, directed by Audrey McKirdy
Sing and Shine Choirs, Finland, directed by Sanna Valvanne
Cape Town Children’s Choir, South Africa, directed by Bronwen Leith and Anne Meyer
Chamber Girl’s Choir of the Kyiv Lysenko State Music Lyceum, Ukraine, directed by Iuliia Puchko-Kolesnyk and Vira Shemchuk
The Singing Tree Choir, Mumbai, India, directed by Salome Rebello, Rohini Basu, Khursheed Printer, and Kelly Waller

Stay through the credits to read the kids’ names and see the countries’ flags. Thanks for watching!

PLEASE SHARE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!! The universe needs to hear this message of friendship, hope and strength.

I invite you to listen to the world premiere of Chorus of Psalms and follow along with the scrolling score. Many talented musicians, a wonderful setting, and exciting music. Soaring horns, a massive percussion section, and powerful texts juxtaposed with the tenderest of moments. The only way to open the door for more opportunities for more live performances is to get the word out. I am appealing to you to help make that happen! Please listen and share far and wide if you think of anyone who might enjoy listening!

I wrote this piece in 2005, it’s a tribute to J.S.Bach and other great masters of the past.

You will find several quotes of Bach’s pieces and … not only.

Enjoy and, if you are a conductor and you are interested I can send you a perusal score.

Here is the link to the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH0a8QIqVag

This is a new recording, more like a reference recording, for a version of Viva Vivaldi, a reimagination of Vivaldi’s Gloria for String Quartet, Upright Bass, Choir, and Soloists.

This first link is a sample from the full version.

This second link is the full example.

Please tune in to a video from last evening’s premiere of a Virtual Performance video of “The Lesson of the Lark.”

“The Lesson of the Lark” – with its moving story about the struggles of the suffragettes, and its powerful call for gender equality, seems even more relevant now than when the work was first premiered last year.

Written in celebration of last year’s 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, TLOTL is now available with new accompaniment options: the original jazz orchestra accompaniment (Full Version), the NEW reduced jazz combo accompaniment (Combo Version), the NEW jazz quartet accompaniment (Quartet Version), or the NEW piano-only accompaniment. Also now available: practice tracks (available from ChoralTracks) and an accompaniment track. (Please email me for more info.)

This multi-movement concert work composed for narrator, soprano and mezzo-soprano soloists, and chorus, takes its inspiration from the language of Jazz – including elements of Swing, Blues, Bossa Nova, Gospel, Salsa, and improvisation. The piece is composed for both SATB and SSA choral ensembles. (SATB and SSA versions may be combined for a collaborative performance.) All choral parts are written with accessibility in mind – with generous use of unison lines, canonic phrases, and triadic harmonies.

Score available here.

For a perusal score, please contact Jeffrey Cobb

In order to weather the pandemic, the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus – one of America’s oldest independent choirs – created a series of presentations for its members & supporters, reminding them of its achievements and aspirations. These shows are now freely available on its YouTube channel , and feature between 10 and 20 different works. The first show traced the choir’s 65-year history, and featured music from its founder, Ronald Arnatt, masterworks from Brahms & Vaughan Williams, and premieres provided by Richard Rodney Bennett, Eriks Esenvalds & Sasha Johnson Manning. Of particular interest is a Tudor motet by John Sheppard reconstructed by the eminent musicologist, Craig Monson.