Unique Christmas/Winter Holiday Repertoire!

Hi choral directors! Hope your school year/concert season is off to a smashing start.

Are you still looking for "Holiday" repertoire? I've got a number of ideas for you from my catalog- both traditionally published and also published by myself.  While I am especially aiming to gain attention for my book of 18 carols for women's voices, please know that if you scroll down you will find some rep for SATB music as well! Some of those pieces below have rental orchestrations which have been very popular with audiences.

Last Fall I released "Carols, distinctive arrangements for women's voices", and it was an amazing  process to not only research and write the pieces but be my own publisher as well. I had a lot of help from many folks around the country- proofreading, choirs trying out the pieces, etc. It made me really appreciate the talent and the generosity of my musical colleagues. The collection has sold well and was just reviewed very favorably in the August 2014 Choral Journal. Scroll way down to read the review.

Thanks for reading!

 

http://paulcarey.net/carols.html 

18 New Christmas Carol Arrangements
Scored variously for SA, SSA, SSAA a cappella; some with simple instrument parts
Sacred texts in English, Latin, German, French, and Spanish
Durations from 1:30 to 5:00 each carol

Price: $15.95 per copy- FREE SHIPPING on all US and Canada orders  (please note- this is the current price- the Choral Journal mistakenly lists it at $17.95)

Order through paulcarey.net or email me at paulcarey440@yahoo.com
Also through Musical Resources, the exclusive wholesale distributor
Paypal or conventional billing available

For a limited time- you may order one copy and use it as a master to photocopy from! The fee is only $150 for right to copy in perpetuity. You may NOT share the book or any copies with other directors, churches, or schools. Email me for more details paulcarey440@yahoo.com

An exciting new collection of 18 carols in new, creative settings suitable for
high school and beyond women's voices, plus also suitable for advanced treble children's choirs.

- Carols and processionals for both concert or madrigal dinner use
- A mixture of transcriptions, arrangements, and new settings of classic Christmas texts, occaisional solo, duo, and trio passages create variety for strophic carols
- Traditional English and Latin texts, plus settings in French, German, and Spanish
- A mixture of easy to more challenging carols, as well as a wide variety of moods and tempi
- Some carols have instrumental parts for one or two players (for instance harp, two flutes or other melody instruments, cello, percussion). Instrumental parts can be downloaded by clicking on the title below.
 

If anyone out there with a women's choir or youth advanced treble choir would like a TOTALLY FREE PERUSAL COPY- send me your US or Canada street address and I will get one to you. I think once you examine it, you will agree that it can be a resource you can go to year after year for December programming. Last year a number of the choirs who bought copies did 2,3,4, carols out of the book at their holiday program!


Here are some other pieces of mine, including SATB, which might really spice up your December programs.

Let me know if you would like any free perusal scores of these pieces. I will just highlight a few- you can view a complete listing with details, score samples, etc. of all of my many Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice scores by visiting:

Selling like the provrebial hotcakes is this new arrangment in Henry Leck's wonderful Creating Artistry-- the Chrismtas spiritual Mary, Had a Baby. Click the link for score and recording Mary Had a Baby

 http://paulcarey.net/works_Christmas_Chorus.htm

One of my holiday bestsellers is the Hanukkah song "Unending Flame" with a truly nice text (so many Hanukkah texts are awful, I think you will agree). Voicings available are SA or SABar. There is also a rental orchestration for this piece which really makes it pop.

Another bestselling piece which can be either with piano or rental orchestration  is my very dancey SSA version in mixed meters of I Saw three Ships:

http://paulcarey.net/Music/I_Saw_3_Ships.htm

If you are looking for SATB works, Nancy Menk made a very nice recording of my lyrical “Hush my Dear, Lie Still and Slumber" which you can hear:  

http://paulcarey.net/Music/HUSH%20My%20Dear.htm

I also have a piece with a similar feel to it- my arrangement of “Gabriel's Message”, available in manuscript. Contact me at paulcarey440@yahoo.com for a perusal score.

Also, a very popular item in the Roger Dean catalog, my fun, uptempo arrangement of Ding, Dong Merrily on High

Finally, some pieces with brass. First up is “Christmas Bells”, which was commissioned by Edie Copley at N. Arizona University. This is big and festive (yet with a very introspective middle section)  for SATB/brass/organ/perc/handbells.  This piece is now also fully orchestrated.

The ending will ensure that your entire audience is awake:

http://paulcarey.net/Music/Christmas%20Bells.htm

The other brass piece is not as festive since the text by the brilliant Thomas Merton is generally more reflective- it's called “The Winter's Night Carol”. I don't have a good recording yet of the piece due to miking issues at performances, but I can certainly e-mail you a score if you like!

CAROL BOOK REVIEW FROM THE AUGUST 2014 CHORAL JOURNAL

Paul Carey's work as a choral composer and arranger is well acknowledged and valued.  His newest publication, Carols…for Women's Voices, takes a significant step in furthering his reputation as a composer for treble and women's voices.    Many of Carey's fine and best-selling arrangements and compositions of carols for mixed, children's, men's and women's voices are available through leading publishers such as Oxford University Press, CF Peters, Lorenz, and Roger Dean.  Yet, unlike many compilations of works by modern composers and arrangers, this distinctive collection does not contain works available through other sources or as separate folios. 

Most of the works found in this collection are arrangements of melodies or compositions upon texts from classic manuscripts and various folk sources.   Nonetheless, the recastings of these materials in Carey's hand are fresh and distinctive.  His "Personant Hodie" (from the Piae Cantiones), for example, retains the familiar tune of the work for the most part but lightens the texture with gavotte-like ritornelli and an unexpected reworking of the melody in 7/8.     Other works, such his SSA unaccompanied version of the classic "We Wish You A Merry Christmas", find a different voice through this composer's compositional wit.  As these two examples imply, the collection contains both sacred and secular carols.  In addition, these two arrangements also exemplify the suitability of some of Carey's arrangements for younger choirs.

The title of this collection is somewhat deceiving, for of the eighteen works in this collection, five are entirely new works, penned using familiar texts.  The distinctiveness of even these works can be evinced by comparing two texts that both Carey and Benjamin Britten have set:  "There is no rose of such virtue" and "Adam Lay ybounden" (perhaps most familiar as the text used for Britten's "Deo Gratias" from A Ceremony of Carols ).   The former is richly set with a nearly chantlike solo and responses by duets and a quartet that shimmer with their uses of inversional modal alterations.  The latter text is interpreted through completely new musical lenses.  The ABAB form of Carey's setting alternates between a haunting, contemplative section and a second, more rhythmically driving section.  This compositional choice musically refocuses the text on the apple's theological role, that of emphasizing the praise of the apple's acceptance and its eventual conclusion in the birth of Jesus.   These five original works alone make it difficult to overlook this collection, and underscore the fact that these arrangements can also find a home in the repertories of more advanced treble/women's choirs.

Cristobal de Morales' O Magnum Mysterium is the only work included in this collection where Carey assumes the singular role of editor.  As would be expected, Carey's edition is much more lightly edited than the classic (SSAA) Schirmer edition by Goodale, but the choice of transcribing this work a half-step higher mirrors a significant characteristic of this collection as a whole—each of these "distinctive arrangements" are sensitive to the distinct characteristics of women's voices.  The Morales is often performed in this key, as it simply resounds better and navigates the passaggi more easily.  Furthermore, such sensitivity extends to the variety of texture, styles, tempi, voicings, and languages (french, latin, spanish, german, and english) found herein.  Carey's collection is varied enough to lend variety to any program built from its offerings, yet cohesive enough to lend solidity to such a performance. (Note: This reviewer acknowledges having contributed to the translations of French texts and initial readings of some of the works in this volume.) 

The quality of these arrangements and the breadth of stylistic variety reflected in this holiday collection for treble voices is nearly unparalleled; for choral ensembles and programs of all types, and for churches with treble ensembles, this fine publication could reasonably be expected to occupy a similar place in holiday/Christmas libraries as the Oxford Book of Carols and Carols for Choirs currently hold.  Well edited by Carey and "tested" by various types of treble/women's choruses, this solid collection possesses enough musical gold to fit the needs of many types of choirs, performances, and even educational functions.

The Choral Classroom- The Three I's that include me

Sharing one of the most popular items I have posted

This particular post from a few years ago has received a lot of hits since I started blogging- it really resonates with folks so I like to re-run it once a year- so here you go (and thanks to Sir Rick Bjella, who now teaches at Texas Tech). As I read through this post again, I also like the fact that Larry Doebler was a contributor to this. I met Larry two years ago when he commissioned me for a piece for the yearly Ithaca College Choral Festival- what a brilliant conductor, teacher, and man.

Over the last four years I have combined elements of these suggestions (with Rick's permission) plus my own experiences teaching at the North Carolina Governor's School as the basic material for choral conference interest sessions I have presented in Hong Kong, South Korea, Nebraska ACDA, North Central division ACDA, and Iowa and Tennessee MEA with great success. There is so much rich material here to ponder.

Enjoy the read and the great ideas:

The three I's that don't include me: involvement, investment, (through inside-out rehearsing), independence...leading to integrity

(compiled by Rick Bjella-- contributing: Randal Swiggum, Nick Page, Larry Doebler, Lucy Thayer, Tim Bruneau, Patty O’Toole)

Reprinted by permission of Rick Bjella. 

Who or what is at the center of your rehearsals?
Whose opinions are valued most?
Around whom do your structure your strategies for the daily rehearsal?

Student involvement:

• foster a safe environment ("well, that was creative", “basses I love you dearly...”, “I love the way you truly listen to each other and honor what was said”)
• share affirmations with the ensemble
• provide a more accurate, personalized, positive reflection on student efforts in rehearsal. (i.e. "Glenn you are particularly good at dramatic reading of texts, that is a real gift that you have, that is a contribution that you make in a way that is particularly stunning")
• give the students only the title of the piece ask them “how do you think it will sound?”
• give short writing moments (in journals, portfolios, 3 x 5 cards, board work, post-it notes
• have student led warm ups prescribed by the teacher
• have an improvisation on one note-(the drone has been a powerful musical force throughout the ages-explore different vowels)
• ask YOU questions (addressed directly to students relevant to personal experiences meant to evoke personal opinions “Have you ever ______? How did it feel? Did you ____?)
• develop listening squads: students sit out and listen to rehearsal, offering critical comments
• giving students many opportunities to evaluate both rehearsals and performances (written comments, group discussions, etc.)
• allow the individual person to react with free movement that reflects the phrasing-start simply and then work towards more subtlety
• switching parts so that the student is understanding all of the choral parts
• sing the instrumental accompaniment for understanding of the entire phrase
• move to the pulse of the music- developing body memory
• learn parts through solfege (movable or fixed do depending on the piece) Assists pitch memory and independence
• have singers in positions to be compassionate. (Sing at a nursing home, a soup kitchen, hospital, or funeral, etc.)
• have student compositions based on one phrase or one word
• listening with intent (give them a puzzle, a problem, or a chance to share their opinion of something technically challenging - i.e. This Little Babe).
• fellowship game - sit or stand in a community interview circle (this can also be done in smaller groups as well): a. interview a person in the middle - ask three questions student has a right to ‘pass’ on any question. b. model the activity by being in the center as well.

Student investment and ownership:

• have students develop their own text interpretations
• use story telling (composers, personal experiences relating to the text, communing with nature, growing-up, losing loved ones, stories by other artist, authors, poets, visual artist)
• believe in your story
• have the students read a letter (that you or they create) from the composer about her intentions for the piece.
• have the students teach a spiritual, or folk song by rote to the class before passing out the arrangement
• invite student opinions on an artistic decision (e.g. where exactly the crescendo should begin, which vowel color suits the mood of a particular word best, etc.)
• have student-led sectionals
• memorization squads: if the group is having trouble with individuals not memorizing their parts, have a team sit out and check the memorization of individuals in the group
• have students come up with their own warm ups
• have them listen to tapes from their own recording sessions and evaluate the relative quality
• have an anger moment where they allow it to all come out in their singing
• try student grading of each other and themselves (set up a careful list of criteria - they see much more than you do)
• have a choir council or officers to meet and discuss issues from the students’ perspective, to act as spokes people, and to plan social events and group-bonding activities
• use dalcroze activities led by students based upon the music that is being rehearsed
• moving to the pulse of the note values- freeing the eyes from the score
• sing silently - owning the score without singing it/ showing it completely through the eyes-check the memory at a predetermined spot.
• find ways to actively involve them in the drama of the music.
• have student invested towards nuts and bolt needs (library maintenance, attendance)
• have touring planned by students- discussing at the ground level objectives and
• discuss the etymology of words, showing links between one language and another.
• have a student committee set clear goals regarding students able to sing their part alone with musicianship and understanding
• have students write reflections concerning a concert
• consider having student program notes
• have an open forum -- pose a question on curriculum (i.e. “What makes this a good piece of music?”, “What makes an exciting choir rehearsal?, If you had one wish for this choir it would be..) ask a follow-up question/ journal entries
• develop abstract expressions - break the choir into six groups, provide them with markers, crayons, finger paints -- ask the them to illustrate a concept you have been working on such as dotted rhythms open vowels, binary form, the heart of the music.
• run rehearsals of difficult passages in circles (basses, tenors, altos, sopranos) while running the passage have the leader in the middle make suggestions for improvements -- set strict time lines -- change leadership in the middle constantly. (use movement within the circle to solidify different learning styles)
• have a no limits day -- suggest that they can sing in any manner they think is appropriate and the only thing off limits is the ‘can’t’ word.
• student independence:

(knowledge=Independence (K=I) and complete imagination)

• shoot for depicting the text in a synergetic manner not as a result of what the conductor might impose
• show the score through physical movement reflecting dynamic, dramatic, linear and harmonic elements with complete physical understanding
• sing one part and reflect physically another part.
• interact with others through discussion with people not in the choir
• have students understand the integration of all study with the music that is being performed

Developing Student Integrity [IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DREAM]:

Start small. Just as it is difficult to know what to do with a blank page, it is difficult for some students to know what to do with authority. Don't expect overnight change.

• model the behavior you wish to emphasize.
• model them before the rehearsal
• model them during the rehearsal
• model them after the rehearsal
• never stop modeling them

Slowly lead students to independence (i.e. ask students to troubleshoot for a solution to a musical problem instead of volunteering one yourself). This will get them thinking for themselves and eventually, they will think independently all the time and take more responsibility for musical excellence. Know your own musical and emotional interior. If you are not comfortable with the things you are asking students to share, then the students will not respond well.

Constantly invite student input and then LISTEN CAREFULLY TO WHAT THEY SAY. Students have insights into what is going on in the music (or in the group) that you will never have.

Consider the difference between student-centered and student-directed. Is it enough to plan activities around student interest and input? For more adventure, try moving toward student directed activities. Students have many things to teach each other (and you).

Consider these four elements of all rehearsals:

• time
• structure of the ensemble, rehearsal room / form of the rehearsal
• how things are learned and percieved
• pedagogy: who teaches whom? why?

What can you and your students learn as a result of ‘tinkering’ with one of the above elements?

Moving towards a more student-centered rehearsal (like a new idea) can be messy and not always productive on the short run. HOWEVER, investing in a well thought-out process that encourages students to take charge of their own education will be motivating and exciting for them, and for YOU. 

Special thanks to Randal Swiggum, Nick Page, Larry Doebler, Lucy Thayer, Tim Bruneau, Patty O’Toole for their insights into this document.

Concert Review from ACDA 2015- National Youth Chamber Choir of Great Britain

On Friday at the 2015 ACDA National conference in Salt Lake City the National Youth Chamber Choir of Great Britain, led by Ben Parry, preformed a wonderful program of mostly British works at Abravanel Hall.

The members of the Youth Chamber Choir

Here is the program they presented:

Sing Joyfully    William Byrd

The Lady Oriana    John Wilbye

Music, When Soft Voices Die    CHH Parry

Lay a Garland Upon her Hearse    Robert Pearsall

Coeles ascendit hodie    CV Stanford

No Longer Mourn for Me    R Vaughn Williams

A Hymn to the Virgin    B Britten

Let Beauty be Our Memorial    JAC Redford (American composer)

Words    Anders Edenroth (founder of the Real Group)

Flame    Ben Parry


This program was an absolute delight as the young singers, ranging from about 21 to 25, sang with clear tone and lively enthusiasm as they glided through a mini-history tour of British music. Parry's conducting was clear and encouraged an open, sweet and expressive sound from these highly talented young singers. The chamber choir is the top group of the organization, which numbers over 800 singers of various ages.I was especially impressed with their open, healthy posture and naturalness. I would not be surprised to learn that they have had extensive Alexander Technique training or something similar.

"Words" was a hit with the audience due to its clever text and the beatbox presentation. We heard Real Group sing this on Wednesday night to great effect.

Parry's own piece "Flame" was a real burner as it concluded with a unrelenting pulsing wall of fff sound. I'd like to hear this piece again in order to more fully grasp what the conductor/composer was striving to achieve.  I was not at all familiar with Ben Parry, yet I found a few folks who know him and they spoke very highly of his work. I highly agree, and would love to hear more from this choir and conductor/composer.

The choir has blogged a little bit from ACDA- you can read their comments on the ACDA experience here.

Fun Factoid-- Over the years, a number of singers from the organization have gone on to become Swingle Singers!

Concert Review from ACDA 2015- Ansan City Chorale

From the 2015 ACDA National Conference in Salt Lake City

Review of the Ansan City Choir, directed by Dr. Shin-Hwa Park


Friday the Ansan City Choir from South Korea, performed in Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City. Sporting colorful, flowing costumes, the choir entered and sang a delightfully eclectic program to an appreciative audience.


Sanctus          by Frank Martin

Agnus Dei     by Francis Poulenc

The Fisherman's Song   by  Ji-Hun Park

Arirang   traditional folk song arr. by Kyu-Yung Chin

The Martin and Poulenc were sung with high sensitivity by the choir, which numbers around forty singers. It was nice to hear some mid-twentieth century repertoire, as the focus so much lately at ACDA conferences has been so heavily on American works from about 1995 to the present.

The Fisherman's Song, in seven short movements, paints the passion and, at times, grief and struggle of generations of Korean fishermen and their families. Though the struggle at this difficult life is a big part of the story here, the music often shines brightly as the fishermen sail joyously on the sea and dream of catching epic numbers of fish. This was a highly evocative piece which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The concert concluded with the ubiquitous Arirang, yet this arrangement developed the old chestnut into a sort of theme and variations, all choreographed with imagination and supple movements by the graceful singers. When I saw Arirang on the program I winced a bit, having heard it a million times. But this was a very fresh new take, spinning out over ten minutes or so, and the audience ate it up like candy.

The 2015 ACDA Conference- Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir

Thursday at the 2015 ACDA National Conference held a spectacular performance by the Estonian Philharmonic Choir along with the Tallin Chamber Orchestra, both founded and  directed by Tonu Kaljuste.

Tonu Kaljuste

The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir

The choir consists of about 24 fully professional singers, while the orchestra is made up of about 22 string players. This is one of the absolute premiere choirs in the world, and their performance was intense, full of power yet also with amazing nuances. The pieces performed were:


Adam's Lament by Arvo Part

Carlo  by Brett Dean

Concerto per vocci e instrumenti

(plus a simple encore)


The centerpiece was "Carlo" by Australian composer/concert violist Brett Dean. This was powerful music, shifting from moments of sublime beauty to gut-wrenching dissonances, all reflecting the life of  the Italian madrigalist Carlo Gesualdo. The choir and string orchestra created dynamics from pppp to ffff and the music constantly shifted in direction, yet all the while creating its own logic over the arc of the composition. This performance was one of the highlights of the entire conference. 

Check out this interview with Dean (OMG, he's not a hot thirty years old. Why are we in America, including the choral arts lately, suffering from what I call the American Idol Syndrome? Here you better be young and pretty to get any attention as an instrumentalist, composer, etc.- and now I am stepping back down from the soapbox)

　

Here is Dean talking about the piece:

Historians to the present day still seem undecided as to the true merits of Gesualdo the composer, unable to separate the characteristics of his compositions, with their harmonic extremities and surprises and their textural complexities, from the infamy of Gesualdo the murderer. There are, no doubt, numerous contemporaries of his whose music would be just as worthy of the kind of attention now given to Gesualdo, composers such as Marenzio and Luzzaschi who didn’t fan the flame by butchering their spouses. But I believe that with Carlo Gesualdo one shouldn’t try to separate his music from his life and times. They are intrinsically interrelated. The texts of his later madrigals, thought to be written by Gesualdo himself, abound with references to love, death, guilt and self-pity. Combine this with the fact that I’ve always found Gesualdo’s vocal works in any case to be one of music’s great and most fascinating listening experiences and you have the premise of my piece. 
　　 


The Part was Part- a nice setup to go into the Dean.

The third piece on the program was a Swingle Singers-ish bit of light fluff. The musicians had a lot of fun with this small plate of tiramisu and the audience dug it.

At the finish the performers were rewarded with a thunderous standing ovation full of shouts and whistles. They rewarded us with an encore--a sweet, little Estonian lullaby. This simple, minimalist tune was a real ear-worm. The lullaby simply faded away into silence as the lil baby fell asleep, Kaljuste grinning knowingly to the audience.

Kaljuste is a masterful conductor, and his sly sense of humor appeared again at the end when he had the choir bow, the strings bow, and he himself bowed, of course. Then as the applause kept going forever he even lifted the scores from his podium and had them bow to the audience-- this was greeted with a big chuckle from the audience. I could listen to these folks FOREVER. Whoever within ACDA desired to get this group here and make it happen for ACDA is a genius- congrats!

More from the ACDA 2015 Conference- MusicSpoke reading session

MORE FROM THE 2015 ACDA CONFERENCE IN SALT LAKE CITY

Here is a blog I am sharing written by the fine composer/accompanist Kurt Knecht. He and Jennifer Rosenblatt are the founders of the new choral music distributor, MusicSpoke, a very composer-friendly organization with a refreshingly new business model. They held a reading session on Wednesday of the ACDA conference in Salt Lake City which, especially for a Wednesday, was very well attended. Below is Kurt's blog, or you can click here and go directly to it. Here' Kurt's blog entry:

Normally, choir directors tell me that when they attend a reading session, they feel lucky to find one usable piece of music. It's a gold mine when they find two usable pieces from a session.
After the MusicSpoke reading session at the National ACDA convention, two directors came up to me. One said, "I could easily use any piece on this reading session to great success with my group. Every piece is good." Another came to the booth later and said, "That was easily the strongest reading session I've attended."

I had the same reply for both of them. "Do you want to know why our reading session was so strong? I didn't pick any of the music. We put the power back in the hands of our composers and asked them what pieces they would like on the reading session."

Pete Eklund leading the session

A great deal of the success of the session was also because of the masterful job my friend Pete Eklund did in leading it. He got us through a lot of music very efficiently. He helped the readers through more difficult rhythmic passages. He said something interesting about each piece, and he acknowledged all of the composers. I couldn't have asked for a more professional and outstanding job. Many thanks, Pete!

My favorite part was just reading through the music of such fine composers together. Dale Trumbore and I even played a little impromptu piano duet on Winged Lullaby, and I haven't been able to get the tune out of my head since.

Here is a list of the pieces and links to performances on MusicSpoke. Please go check out the music and use it for your choirs.

Rise Up, My Love, My Fair One - Joseph G. Stephens

A Cradle Hymn - David von Kampen

Sky Flier - Josh Rist

Requiescat - Andrea Ramsey

The Lark in the Clear Air - Paul Carey

Esa Enai - Kurt Knecht

Winged Lullaby - Dale Trumbore

Lux Aeterna - Saunder Choi

O Vos Omnes - Connor J. Koppin

Stars Over Snow - Timothy Tharaldson

Discovery - Christina Whitten Thomas

Stay - Garrett Hope

I Shall Return - Andrew Marshall

Sicut Cervus - David V. Montoya

Be Thou My Vision - Tinsley Silcox

Holy Mountain - Kile Smith

The Suffering Servant - Ryan Keebaugh

Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis - Mathew Cahn

Kyrie - Nick Dahlquist

The Snow I Hated - Jordan Nelson

The Holly and the Ivy - Jason Horner

The 2015 ACDA National Conference- Composers

Hi again,

I'm back in cold Chicago. The ACDA conference was epic, and I've already shared a bunch of things with you. Today, I am going to spotlight the new wave of composers who attended the conference and have opened up shop as independent publishers/distributors of their own music.

You can go visit my series of posts about this sort of thing by going here for the start of a seven-part series I did recently.


Here are composers, co-ops, and alternative distribution folks who had their own booths at ACDA 2015 in Salt Lake City. I hope you will click on the inks and learn more about these folks.

IMP- the collective that includes Jocelyn Hagen, Abbie Betinis, J David Moore, et al

Graphite (Tim Takach and many more represented)

Joan Szymko (Joan was really busy during the conference)

The Choral Composers Collective (Tim Banks, Ken Berg, John Michael Trotta)

Barlow Bradford

Catherine Dalton

Nancy Wertsch

Shawn Kirchner

See-a-Dot

MusicSpoke


I am now working with MusicSpoke, a brand new, composer-friendly distributor. We had a very successful reading session at the conference, led by Pete Eklund. Co-founder Kurt Knecht has up-and-coming young composers Dale Trumbore and Connor Koppin, and other talented composers onboard. You'll be seeing some other "name" established composers joining soon as well. Here are the pieces I currently have at MusicSpoke.


Also Northwest Choral Composers (Karen P. Thomas, Reg Unterseher, and John Muehleisen) were also present and handing out info, though they did not run a booth.

This is the wave of the future- a lot of composers who have decided that they can be their own best advocate for the music they write, especially if the piece in mind is not a three-minute EZ octavo. I predict we will see more and more high-end quality-music boutique composer booths in the coming years, especially by the time ACDA 2017 rolls around (to be held in Minneapolis).

The 2015 ACDA National Conference- South Dakota Chorale

My review of the South Dakota Chorale performance at the 2015 ACDA National Conference in Salt Lake City:

One of the new ideas at ACDA 2015 (there were many, both large and small--bravo to Tim Sharp and Mary Hopper) was NOT segregating the honors choirs from the rest of the performing ensembles. For instance, the HS honors choir (about 300 GREAT singers, led by the epic Andre Thomas in a very creative program, bravo, Andre) sang Saturday (in the Abravanel space) just before the great professional choir, the South Dakota Chorale, directed by Brian Schmidt. This means there was a giant crowd of family and a few siblings present to hear the HS singers (and not any talking or noise-thanks to you parents for that) but also many of the parents stayed and heard the South Dakota Chorale sing a very challenging program and seemed to really dig it. For many of those parental units this may have seemed to be very strange music, but I loved how so many of them stayed fully engaged in the music and the absolutely riveting performance by the Chorale. This was one of the highlight reel performances of ACDA's four days. In fact, I don't think I heard a more amazingly flawless program from any other choir in the four days at SLC.

The programming and pacing was perfect on many levels, the singing was incredibly rich and highly professional without ever sounding like a group of pros phoning in a performance, and Schmidt's conducting was what you hope for; wherein a conductor allows a piece and a choir to create magic in real time--the conductor functioning as a superbly talented facilitator in service to the performers, music, and audience--without ever succumbing to the messed-up ego of the uber-conductor. Hey, Lennie Bernstein, are you listenin'?

South Dakota Chorale

Brian  A. Schmidt

Here is the program they presented, entitled Sacred Songs of Life and Love:



Prayers of Kierkegaard (excerpts)

by Knut Nystedt (1915-2104)



Four Songs of Love

by Sven-David Sandstrom (b. 1942)



O Salutaris Hostia

by Eriks Esenwalds (b. 1977)



Nunc Dimittis

by Arvo Part



Bogoroditse Dyevo

by Arvo Part

(hey, I'm still on the  road, please excuse lack of diacritic marks on the above titles and names!!!)


Things I loved about this performance/presentation/ interpretation:

1) the repertoire was kick-ass, and while much of the rep was somewhat gnarly, the Esenvalds sweetened things up--it's placement in the Fibonacci 8/13 zone of the program was perfect. This tune was the audience favorite, of course, and that's just fine. Sopranos Natalie Campbell and Julianna Emanski were simply to die for. This was like a flourless dark chocolate cake paired with a bad-boy Cab Sav.

Here is the chorale singing the The Lakme Flower Duet- oops, I mean the Esenvalds:




2) The choir sang with an entirely different tone for the two Part pieces at the end. Especially in the Bogo Dyevo there was a far deeper, building from-the-bass-up Slavonic tone. This is something I really dig in great choirs- don't just give me one lush, awesome tonal world for an entire concert- create new tonal worlds for each piece, for each composer's placement in history, in national heritage, in their intentions, etc.

3) The Sandstrom was the most challenging to the ear and mind. To stay engaged with his sound-world and formal structure required great effort. I wondered if the audience could stay with the chorale and Sandstrom during this process- and they did!





Here is the group's brand new recording- go buy it, fools:

http://www.southdakotachorale.com/sacred-songs/



The duet artists on the Esenvalds--absolutely exquisite voices!

Natalie Campbell

Julianna Emanski

Male Choir Reading Session Rep from ACDA 2015 in Salt Lake City

Hi friends- if you weren't in Salt Lake City here is the reading session rep for male choirs:



Aya Ngena   (Alfred)

arr. by Ruth Morris Gray


The Vagabond  (BriLee)

by Mark Patterson


Goodbye, Then  (TimothyCTakach.com)

by Timothy Takach


Yonder Come Day  (Birnamwood)

by Craig Carnahan


Beati Quorum Via  (Alfred)

by Charles Stanford, arr. Russell Robinson


Wedding Qawwali  (earthsongs)

by A.R. Rahmann, arr. Ethan Sperry


I Want Jesus to Walk with Me  (Hinshaw)

Bryan Greer


The Wild Rover  (Boosey and Hawkes)

arr. Mark Sirrett


When Music Sounds  (Arete Music Imprints)

by Joseph Gregorio


Gao Shan Qing   (SBMP)

arr. Reed Riddle


Draw on, Sweet Night  (Caseyrule.com)

Casey Rule


Dulaman  (Hal Leonard)

arr. Desmond Earley


In the Bleak Mindwinter  (Colla Voce)

by Michael Joh Trotta


Go, Lovely Rose  (JEHMS)

Z. Randall Stroope


I'm Gonna Sing 'til the Spirit Moves in My Heart  (Hal Leonard)

Moses Hogan, arr. Peter Eklund

University Reading Session Rep from the 2015 ACDA Conference

Hi friends- if you weren't in Salt Lake City here is the reading session rep for college/university choirs:


Alleluia  (Jakerunestad.com)

by Jake Runestad


Burst Forth, My Tears  (Boosey and Hawkes)

by Michael Gilbertson


Batter my Heart, Three-Personed God  (Colla Voce)

by Richard Nance



Voices of Broken Hearts  (EC Schirmer)

by Steven Sametz


Juravit Dominus  (JEHMS)

by Michael Haydn, arr. Martin banner



Elegy for Matthew  (EC Schirmer)

by David Conte


Four Songs of Love, #1 and #3  (GE)

Sven David Sandstrom

Sven David Sandstrom

Ego Sum  (Walton)

by Sydney Guillaume



I Am  (G Schirmer)

by Dominick DiOrio



Psalm of Life  (G Schirmer)

by Craig Hella Johnson



Again  (Red Poppy/G Schirmer)

by David Lang


Fly Away I  (Caroline Shaw Editions)

by Caroline Shaw



The Troparion of Kassiani (Vanderbeek and Imrie)

by Ivan Moody



Beati Quoru Remissae  (JEHMS)

by Zachary Wadsworth



O Love Divine  (Thorpe)

by Georgie-Porgie Handel



Oh, Jerusalem in the Morning  (Hinshaw)

arr. Joseph Jennings