Concert Music for Concert Choir

Dale Trumbore : Flare

Published originally as SSAA and commissioned by the 2012 ACDA Women's Choir Commissioning Consortium, the rhythmic and driving music with a text by living composer Stacy Gnall is now available for mixed choir.

Composer: Dale Trumbore

Christopher Tin : Sogno di Volare

To Shiver the Sky is an oratorio about the history of flight, and mankind's quest to conquer the heavens. Told through the words of 11 of our greatest astronomers, inventors, visionaries and pilots, it charts our relentless need to explore the universe, defy our earthly bonds, reach for the face of God, and ultimately claim our place among the stars. It is sung in English, Latin, Italian, German, French, Polish, Russian, and Sanskrit. This is the first movement of the work entitled, Sogno di Volare. Sogno di Volare is a setting of modern-Italian adaptations of Leonardo da Vinci's writings on flight. It was originally composed as the theme song to the video game Civilization VI. The piece is based around the concept of exploration: both physically, in seeking out new lands, but also intellectually, in seeking out new frontiers of science, technology, and humanities. (Originally published under Item #: 00275228)

Composer: Christopher Tin

Now available for SATB! Composed to teach three essential music and dance styles: the Cuban son, the Puerto Rican Plena, and the Dominican Merengue. These are each specific in Caribbean music expressions. Movement suggestions to reflect the musical style along with teaching strategies are provided in the insightful page 2 notes.

Composer: Juan Tony Guzman

To Shiver the Sky is an oratorio about the history of flight, and mankind's quest to conquer the heavens. Told through the words of 11 of our greatest astronomers, inventors, visionaries and pilots, it charts our relentless need to explore the universe, defy our earthly bonds, reach for the face of God, and ultimately claim our place among the stars. It is sung in English, Latin, Italian, German, French, Polish, Russian, and Sanskrit. This is the fifth movement of the work entitled, Astronomy.

Composer: Christopher Tin

A banjo-like piano accompaniment and expressive fiddle stylings lend folk authenticity to this plaintive and moving choral setting of Stephen Foster's classic song Hard Times Come Again No More. the text is set in simplicity and in fullness, by turns, as the expression of the words demand, with individual vocal parts always retaining a naturalness of line that create a rich, harmonic composite when combined with the orther parts.

Arranger: Shawn Kirchner | Composer: Stephen Foster

Shawn Kirchner burst on to the scene with three early American songs from his collection Heavenly Home. Each of the three songs were published separately--Hallelujah, Angel Band, Unclouded Day. Here they are all together as they were originally intended in a real value package. Program as a set or individually.

Arranger: Shawn Kirchner

Emily Dickinson's poem on the fragility of nature, as well as our own hand in its destruction, finds a elegiac tone in this original piece from Baba Yetu composer Christopher Tin. Palo Alto High School, Tin's alma mater, commissioned this deeply melodic composition in celebration of their centennial in 2018.

Composer: Christopher Tin

I Shall Not See the Shadows is based on Christina Rossetti's poem When I Am Dead My Dearest. It portrays death at its most indifferent--unnoticed, unheralded, unremembered. It also suggests that forgetting is a form of extinction, too--that the finality of species lies not in the death of its last remaining members, but in the failure to preserve their memory.

Composer: Emily Dickinson

This is an evocative, folk-like setting of Yeats' poem The Lake Isle of Innisfree. The modal vocal writing is both simple and sophisticated and always expressive of the yearning in Yeats' words.

Composer: Shawn Kirchner

This beautiful text by Canadian poet Bliss Carman speaks to themes of peace, thankfulness and humility. The texture is mostly homophonic with brief sections of divisi to illuminate colors and images in the text. There are short passages for SSA and TBB that add interest in color and texture and also offer opportunity to feature sections.

Composer: Matthew Emery

Iza Ngomso is the fourth movement of Christopher Tin's major work The Drop That Contained the Sea, and is based on water in one of its unique naturally occuring states. In the case of Iza Ngomso, a piece about clouds, the text is derived from an unusual translation of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem Keramos: translated into Xhosa, one of the national languages of South Africa (and one of the African dialects that features prominent 'click' sounds).

Composer: Christopher Tin

from Calling All Dawns

Composer: Christopher Tin

This folk song arrangement expresses the dispersed Jewish community's hope for reunion next year in Jerusalem. It is comprised of two distinct sections: a newly-composed, sorrowful theme, expressive of unrequited longing, and the traditional folk song itself, lively with excitement and hope.

Arranger: Shawn Kirchner

If we can be happy and live well without causing unnecessary harm, why wouldn't we? This simple and yet profound question is the invitation for choir, listener, and all of us in this beautiful new work. Written for Donald Nally and The Crossing, this is a piece for the best choirs.

Composer: John Conahan

This is a song by Frances Smith Thomas inspired by the words of an old woman who participated in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement. Here is a powerful arrangement of joy and accomplishment with each verse building to the final phrase I'm walking for the glory of the Lord.

Arranger: Shawn Kirchner

Inspired by the Joseph Jennings arrangement of this same tune for Chanticleer, Shawn combines the five syllable halleluia with this timeless melody of the old spiritual. A true gospel piano part, for years improvised by the arranger and now written down along with an optional coda for any choir blessed with a great gospel soloist, this is a concert closer of the highest order.

Arranger: Shawn Kirchner

This beautiful folk ballad from 17th century England is haunting and timeless. The lyrics tell the story of an immigrant looking for love in a new and unfamiliar land. Each of the 3 verses varies in perspective with verse 1 sung by a baritone soloist accompanied by soaring choral dissonances. The second verse, set in 4 part canon, paints the text, And writes it by the river where the water o'er flow. In the final verse, the Soprano solo adds an unsettled sense of agony to the text, And when I get weary, I'll sit down and cry. And think of my Saro, Pretty Saro, my bride.

Arranger: Franklin Gallo

Here is a collection of three of the most popular spirituals in the repertoire. Down To The River To Pray, Deep River and In That Great Gettin'-up Morning are arranged for success. Numbers 1 & 3 are a cappella while the slow and powerful no. 2 (Deep River) has piano accompaniment. This set of 3 is a real value for your choral budget.

Arranger: Dean Rishel

Here is a newly-created traditional song that pairs an old hymn text with an original melody. The banjo like piano accompaniment gives the music motion and excitement and the result is a true concert closer.

Composer: Shawn Kirchner

Now available for TTBB choir, this enduring gospel favorite is set with a straight-forward first verse and chorus. The next two verses combine traditional bluegrass vocal style with counterpoint and fugue, resulting in a crescendo of excitement.

Composer: Shawn Kirchner