News & Views Friday, July 25, 2025

recommended by Jen Sper, School Choral Music Specialist

Choral Repertoire by Women Composers edited by Hilary Apfelstadt
In recent years, the choral profession has become especially mindful of recognizing a broad spectrum of composers, but scholarly materials have not kept pace. In fact, a survey of the available academic writings on choral music reveals a startling lack of information about women composers.

“Choral Repertoire by Women Composers” addresses this gap by highlighting the lives and music of more than 200 women choral composers spanning different time periods and geographic locations. Their choral works – expressive, compelling, and innovative – represent a diversity of styles and are suitable for choirs of varied ages and experience. Nearly 2,000 unique works are listed in this edition.

Though impossible to include every deserving composer and piece, this timely volume covers considerable ground, spotlighting the important contributions women composers have made to choral music throughout history and across the world.

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About the Author:
Jen Sper is a Choral Music Specialist here at Stanton’s Sheet Music. A native of Cincinnati, she holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Baldwin Wallace College (now University) Conservatory of Music, and taught 7-12 choir, music theory, class piano, and drama in Southern Ohio before joining the Stanton’s team in 2006. An active choral singer and accompanist throughout the Central Ohio area, Jen can also often be found exploring the exciting restaurant, brewery, and theater scenes in Columbus, wandering through the local metro parks, visiting family around the Great Lakes, or at home with her very friendly cat.

Let Us Break Bread Together arr. Albin Whitworth
Nine communion hymn settings for organ arranged by Albin C. Whitworth. Titles include: “Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed,” “Close to Thee,” “In the Cross of Christ I Glory,” “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross,” “Jesus Paid It All,” “Let Us Break Bread Together,” “My Faith Looks Up to Thee,” “Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart,” and “Whiter Than Snow.”

Let Us Break Bread Together arr. Daniel Burton
This collection represents a variety of well-known communion hymns written in a creative, yet accessible style. For manuals only. Titles include: “Be Known to Us in Breaking Bread,” “Bread of the World,” “Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life,” “Deck Thyself, My Soul, with Gladness,” “Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face,” “I Come with Joy,” and “Let Us Break Bread Together.”

Three Communion Meditations arr. David Maxwell
This set includes beautiful settings of well-known hymn tunes “Picardy,” “Wondrous Love,” and “Amazing Grace” that organists will find useful over and over again. While perfect for use during Communion, each piece is substantial enough to stand on its own. Maxwell has called for specific colors with his registrations, but any organist will find these arrangements playable on almost any size instrument and with little work.

Communion Mosaics arr. Jacob B. Weber
This is the tenth edition in the popular Mosaics series by Jacob B. Weber. Communion Mosaics features organ settings that are useful as preludes or hymn introductions during distribution. The collection is bookended with a delightful trumpet tune on “O Living Bread from Heaven” and three variations on “At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing” (Introduction, Interlude, and Coda), which are useful as a combined prelude or interspersed with hymn singing. Other hymns include “Jesus Comes Today with Healing,” “I Come, O Savior, to Your Table,” “O Gracious Lord, I Firmly Am Believing,” and “What Is This Bread.”

In Communion by Charles Callahan
If you have served “on the bench” for any denomination that celebrates the Lord’s Supper, these settings will help you get through the panic when Communion takes longer than planned or the choir doesn’t have enough people to sing the scheduled anthem. They are based on familiar hymns and are grouped by key centers so that they may be played one after the other.

Communion Interludes (Organ Settings of Eucharistic Hymns) arr. Robert Lau
Organists always need suitable repertoire for communion, and the ever-practical Robert Lau has provided eight easy and useful settings of familiar communion hymns that appear in most hymnals. The settings are intentionally brief so as to provide flexible combination options for the variable length of communion distribution. Titles include: “Be Present at Our Table, Lord (with Come with Us, O Blessed Jesus),” “Bread of the World,” “Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face,” “Humbly I Adore Thee,” “I Come with Joy to Meet My Lord,” “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence,” “Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees,” and “Theme and Variations on O God, Unseen, Yet Ever Near.”

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Sight Reading Music for Ohio Music Education Association Adjudicated Events by Thomas More Scott, PhD
NOW AVAILABLE exclusively from Stanton’s Sheet Music are the choral sight reading materials as prepared for official OMEA Large Group Adjudicated Events. Each reproducible digital book includes all of the pieces for the event (AA-A-B-C, Mixed-Treble-Tenor/Bass) and is licensed for use by the purchasing school. Now available are books for 2024 State events, 2025 District events, and 2025 State events – and future books will be available in the coming years!

IN PERSON WORKSHOPS WITH THE COMPOSER!
Work to improve your choir’s sight reading skills with a valuable workshop with the composer, Dr. Thomas More Scott! Developing sight reading ability in your choirs helps students learn music faster, gives them more musical confidence, and makes singing fun! Dr. Scott will come work with your students at your school, and their sight reading skills are sure to improve.

Dr. Scott received his Master’s Degree in Choral Conducting under Richard Mathey at Bowling Green State University, where sight reading was the subject of his Master’s thesis. He earned a Ph.D. in music theory and composition and began composing the choral sight reading music for OMEA Large Group Adjudicated Events in 2024.

For scheduling and pricing information for workshops with Dr. Scott, please contact him directly (440-227-2696 or morzhe@windstream.net).

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Rare Recital Treasures Book 1 ed. Ingrid Jacobson Clarfield & Kevin Chance
“Rare Recital Treasures,” selected and edited by Ingrid Jacobson Clarfield and Kevin Chance, is a three-book anthology showcasing lesser-known piano repertoire from all style periods. This series features works by both renowned and newly discovered composers, enriching the standard teaching literature with a diverse array of hidden gems.

Book 1 spans the early-intermediate to intermediate levels. This collection offers exceptional music for recitals and auditions, along with composer biographies and valuable pedagogical insights for each piece.

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My Best Performance: Piano Solos by Melody Bober
Whether at a lesson, recital, or at home in front of the family, every piano student wants to give their best performance! It is always fun to have new music that motivates practice and brings enjoyment to everyone: students, teachers and audiences alike.

Available in five volumes: Volume 1 (Early Elementary), Volume 2 (Elementary), Volume 3 (Late Elementary), Volume 4 (Intermediate to Late Intermediate), and Volume 5 (Intermediate to Late Intermediate).

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SACRED CHORAL READING SESSION
Saturday August 9, 2025
9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Church of the Messiah, 51 N. State Street, Westerville OH 43081
Presented by Mary McDonald
$25.00

Stanton’s is pleased to welcome back Mary McDonald as our clinician for the August Sacred Choral Music reading session. With a career that spans over forty years, her songs appear in the catalogs of every major publisher of church music. More than 1200 compositions through anthems, seasonal musicals and keyboard collections testify to her significant contribution to church music. Her greatest desire is “to give God glory for the songs He has allowed me to compose. He alone, is the true Creator behind my pen.”

In 2011, after serving as sacred music editor for The Lorenz Corporation in Dayton, Ohio for more than twenty years, Mary answered a new call. Now she takes her tremendous passion and love for music making directly to churches as an independent artist. Since then, she has been in constant demand in churches across the nation for composer weekends as well as served as host for many of the top choral music dealer conferences in the United States and Canada.

Your registration for the clinic includes a packet of over 30 new choral anthems that are hand-picked from the hundreds published each year. Please note that there is no pre-registration for this session – all registration will take place on-site beginning at 8:30 a.m. We look forward to seeing you on August 10th for a wonderful morning of singing with one of the nation’s most sought after church music experts.

Contact the Choral Department for more information on the Sacred Choral reading session.

SACRED PIANO READING SESSION
Saturday August 9, 2025
2:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Stanton’s Sheet Music, 330 S. Fourth Street, Columbus OH 43215
Presented by Mary McDonald
$5.00

Join us at Stanton’s Sheet Music for an afternoon of listening to new selections of sacred piano music that will be enjoyable to play in church or at home. Our clinician this year is Mary McDonald.

Contact the Keyboard Department for more information on the Sacred Piano reading session.

recommended by Ken Tilger and Austin Swack, Band Education Specialists

Faithfully arr. Dallas C. Burke, Grade 3
This iconic rock hit from the group Journey makes a great choice to close any show! After an eloquent start, this chart features some big moments from the winds and percussion that will rattle the press box to bring the perfect end to your show!

Born to Run arr. Paul Murtha, Grade 3
Electrify the crowd with this hard rocking classic from The Boss!

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction arr. Paul Murtha, Grade 3
From the moment you hear the classic guitar riff you won’t be able to sit still. Everyone will be singing along to this arrangement of the iconic Rolling Stones hit.

Push It arr. Nick Baratta, Grade 3
One of the most recognizable hooks ever written is the basis for this fresh new arrangement of the classic hip-hop tune from Salt-n-Pepa. Nick Baratta throws in a few new twists, and the strong scoring will make any band sound great!

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About the Authors:
A former band director, Ken taught grades 5-12 band and music appreciation in both public and parochial schools in Central Ohio, and has been at Stanton’s since 2004. His iPod ranges from jazz and funk to classic and alternative rock, and symphonies. His interests include reading, history, traditional amusement parks, outdoor activities (especially hiking), and watching hockey.

Austin Swack joined the Stanton’s team after a decade of teaching band in Texas public schools, where his ensembles were consistently recognized for superior performance. He is equally at home with beginner and advanced students and has extensive experience programming for ensembles at all ability levels. Additionally, he is a versatile arranger as well as an experienced clinician and adjudicator. In his free time, Austin enjoys running, cycling, and cheering on the Blue Jackets!

Eternal Praise: Sacred Arrangements for Piano and Organ Duet arr. Marianne Kim
Marianne Kim has selected seven anthems from the Beckenhorst catalog and transcribed them for piano and organ duet. These tastefully styled transcriptions, idiomatically written for both instruments, create washes of sound ranging from triumphant and majestic to tender and lyric. Highly recommended for adding color and interest to your worship services, or for sacred concerts.

Titles include: “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” “Rejoice the Lord is King,” “What Wondrous Love Is This,” “It Is Well With My Soul,” “How Firm a Foundation,” “Give Me Jesus,” and “And Can It Be.”

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The Summer Portraits by Ludovico Einaudi
Ludovico Einaudi returns with brand new album, “The Summer Portraits.”

“I started to think of my summers, the time when my life was deeply connected with all my senses, where the days felt like months and the months like years, and I was free from morning to night, and every day was a new discovery of life, with nature being a fundamental part of it. We were one with nature.”

“I thought that everyone has their own version of the summer portraits. A beautiful season connected with the best moments of our lives. So I started to make my own paintings with music. This album is dedicated to all our endless summer memories, all our beautiful moments.” – Ludovico Einaudi

This exclusive, official folio presents all 13 pieces from the album in piano solo format. Title include: “Rose Bay,” “Punta Bianca,” “Sequence,” “Pathos,” “To Be Sun,” “Jay,” “In Memory of a Dream,” “In Limine,” “Summer Song,” “Oil on Wood,” “Episode One,” “Maria Callas,” and “Santiago.”

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A Little Jazz Mass by Bob Chilcott, SAB with piano and optional bass & drum kit
Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, this highly original and effective concert setting of the five-movement Latin Missa brevis embraces a variety of jazz styles. The stylistic piano accompaniment can be played as written or serve as a guide, and bass and drums can join in ad lib, though a notated bass part is also available.

Originally written for SSA treble voices and also available for SATB mixed voices.

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