The Phoenix Bach Choir four years ago premiered Milagros de Navidad, a Christmas cycle for choir as a way of marking the holiday season in a Southwestern accent. In this recording, the choir has made Milagros the lead item in a superbly produced and packaged yuletide CD from an emerging Arizona label, Soundset. Jon Washburn conducts the ensemble of Frank Koonce, guitar; Mark Sunkett, percussion; and the choir with select soloists. In this sonically clean and vibrant recording, Milagros is a compendium of yuletide songs lovingly sung in Spanish and English, with running commentary from guitarist Koonce. Robert Tree Cody, on Native American Flute (the instrument of choice this season, it seems), is also heard here, in Washburn's own Noel Sing We, a kind of American Indian-haunted holiday landscape.

Songlist: Milagros de Navidad, Los Reyes de Oriente, Angels we have heard on high, A la nanita nana (Lullaby), Alla en el portal (Away in a manger), Noche de paz (Silent night), Fum fum fum, Noel Sing We, Magnificat secundi toni, Lo, how a rose e're blooming, The Star, I wonder as I wander, How brightly shines the morning star, Rise up, shepherd, an' follow, Weihnachtslieder

Portland Symphonic Girlchoir : Girlchoir Favorites   

Now entering its third decade, ably led by Co-Conductors Roberta Q. Jackson and Debra R. Burgess, the award-winning PSG is taking its place among the finest children's choral ensembles in the country. Over 1,000 young women ages 5 to 18, who love to sing, have come together through the years to create the distinct voice of the Portland Symphonic Girlchoir, and the 100+-strong ensemble joins the 33-strong, "20th Anniversary Alums & Mums Choir" for 17 piano-accompanied, selected live cuts, recorded from 2008 to 2010. Favorites are a pair by Duke Ellington," "It Don't Mean A Thing" and "Mood Indigo," Charles Collins' "Mary Had A Little Blues," Bill Perison's "Naughty Four O'Clocks," "Gershwin for Girls," Moses Hogan's "Ride On, King Jesus," Charles Collins' "The Star," Stephen Hatfield's "Living In a Holy City," "Deep Peace, a Gaelic Blessing" and David Brunner's "A Song to End All Wars." We love the sweet, spirited sound of the Portland Symphonic Girlchoir, one of the best in the world!

Songlist: Give Us Hope, Music Is Indeed, It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing), Mood Indigo, Mary Had A Little Blues, Naughty Four O'Clocks, Gershwin For Girls, Birth Of The Blues, Bye Bye Blackbird, Living In A Holy City, Ride On, King Jesus, My Lord, What a Mornin', The Storm Is Passing Over, Deep Peace, A Gaelic Blessing, The Star, She Shall Have Music, A Song To End All Wars

Dr. Martha Shaw is the founding director of the 47-strong Spivey Hall Children's Choir. Under her direction, the choir, noted for its artistry and mature vocal sound, has been featured in performances at regional, state and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association. Accompanied on piano by assistant director Judy Kerlin Mason, "Homeland" is presented as "a collection of music featuring works of contemporary composers of the Americas." Some of our favorites are David Brunner's "Jubilate Deo" and "The World is Full of Poetry" from Earthsongs, Francisco Nunez' "Gloria" and "Credo" from Misa Pequena, Ron Nelson's "Ask the Moon," and the familiar "Shenandoah," "The Turtle Dove," "Georgia on My Mind," "Amazing Grace" and "May the Road Rise to Meet You," but every track is wonderful. All songs are accompanied by piano, organ and/or a variety of woodwinds, horns and percussion. Let the soaring voices of SHCC lift your spirits and calm your soul.

Songlist: Jubilate Deo, The World is Full of Poetry from Earthsongs, Gloria from Misa Pequena, Credo from Misa Pequena, Day Break, Salve Regina, Ask the Moon from Three Settings of the Moon, Shenandoah, Homeland, The Star, Think On These Things, Song for the Mira, The Turtle Dove, Three Ways To Vacuum Your House -II, Over the Rainbow, Life Has Loveliness to Sell, Inscription of Hope, Georgia On My Mind, Amazing Grace from Over the Hills, May the Road Rise to Meet You