SSA

#52: Friday, July 5, 2019

Commissioning Consortiums

Commissioning a new piece of music is a wonderful way to participate in the life cycle of our choral art. This endeavor directly supports composers, and it furthers the expansion of our current field of repertoire. One way to commission new works is to be a part of a commissioning consortium.

#45: Friday, March 15, 2019

“Wild Embers” by Melissa Dunphy
Text by Nikita Gill
SSAA, a cappella

I met Melissa at the Composer’s Fair during the recent ACDA national conference in Kansas City. She had a number of works for SSAA ensembles, and every one of them had a purposefully-chosen poetic text that rose off the page along with the music. Her work had life and energy and feisty passion, and I wanted to program it all! Among her works, “Wild Embers” is at the top of my list for a future performance.

#44. Greetings from the ACDA National Conference in Kansas City! Click for Handout & notes from my interest session on women’s/treble repertoire.

#43: Friday, February 15, 2019

“When Love Is My Song”
by Jill Friedersdorf and Melissa Keylock
Text by Jill Friedersdorf
SSA, piano

In honor of Valentine’s Day this week, I invite you to take a closer look at “When Love Is My Song,” for SSA choir. Jill Friedersdorf and Melissa Keylock work together for this moving selection, perfect for your three-part ensemble.

#41: Friday, January 18, 2019
“Deep Peace, Healing Light” by Leonard Enns
Text inspired by Gaelic traditions
SSA, a cappella

This lovely selection by composer Leonard Enns, “Deep Peace, Healing Light,” provides ample opportunity for suspensions, non-chord tones, and clusters, while only requiring three voice parts. This piece is ideal for concert or contest; it can also be used for funerals, retirements, graduations, or other community events where peace and/or reconciliation is the focus.

#39: Friday, December 28, 2018
“Look Down, Fair Moon” by Mari Esabel Valverde
Text by Walt Whitman
SSA div, piano

This hauntingly-beautiful work by composer Mari Esabel Valverde offers a contemplative (and accessible!) take on Whitman’s elegy for the fallen. It is ideal for concerts focusing on reflection, reconciliation, war/peace, and the social costs of violence.

#37: Friday, December 14, 2018
“Ardaigh Cuain,” arr. David Mooney
Traditional Irish words and melody
SSAA, harp (or piano)

In “Ardaigh Cuain,” David Mooney has arranged a traditional Irish text and melody into a lovely, lilting selection for women’s/treble choir and harp.

#36: Friday, December 07, 2018
“Hail, Christmas Day” by Abbie Burt Betinis
Text by John Harris Burt
SSAA, a cappella

This joyful carol from Abbie Betinis is an earworm in the best sense of the word. More than once I found myself, and my singers, bouncing down the hallway to the opening melody. It is a spry combination of mixed asymmetrical meters, and certain to keep your singers on their toes. If you are looking for an uptempo, cheerful addition to your holiday concert, you’ve found it!

#33: Friday, November 2, 2018
“And Miriam Sang (Shiru L’Adonai)”
by Zebulon M. Highben
Exodus 15:21
SSAA, percussion

Week 30: Friday, October 12, 2018.

“To Make A Prairie” by Elizabeth Alexander. Text by Emily Dickinson. SSA, piano.

Determination. Mindfulness. Fortitude. Strength. Resilience. These ideas and more come to the surface when Elizabeth Alexander’s stirring music and Emily Dickinson’s inspirational text are paired together for this selection.