When I Sing: New Titles for Beginning Choir Friday, September 06, 2024
recommended by Jen Sper and Lisa Springer, School Choral & Classroom Music Specialists
When I Sing by Tom Shelton, Unison with piano and optional glockenspiel
This enchanting choral invites singers to embrace the joy of music and the power of their own voice. A welcome addition to the repertoire for young and developing choirs, this work is full of dynamic contrasts and features accessible choral textures, opportunities for a soloist, as well as an optional descant and part for optional glockenspiel. Highly recommended!
Fall Leaves by Penny Rodriguez, 2-part with piano
This playful piece is perfect for the beginning of the school year. Charming lyrics, penned by a 7-year-old student, capture the joy of autumn. A unison verse swirls into simple call-and-response punctuated by a bridge in beginning 2-part harmony. A cheerful key change tosses the leaves higher into the air before tapering to a quiet “I love fall leaves” ending.
Every Heart Sings a Song by Greg Gilpin, 2-part with piano
“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul. Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song.” These words by Plato serve as the inspiration for this engaging piece for young and developing choirs. Light and bright, with a creative bouncy accompaniment, parts for shaker, guiro, and low drum, and easily learned vocal lines all combine to create a creative programming gem.
I Met a Bird by Jim Papoulis, Unison/2-part with piano & percussion
Nature not only inspires us but encourages us in this groovy tune. Plaintive text, directly from the imaginations of kids, is partnered with laid-back piano and drum parts in this cheerful and conversational work aimed at empowering the youthful nature inside of us. “Just spread your wings and believe it!”
Try, Try Again by Rollo Dilworth, 2-part with piano
It’s a famous saying that bears repeating: “If at first you don’t succeed…” Rollo Dilworth and many of his contemporaries find it important that many young people hear the kinds of platitudes that lift up, without disregarding the difficulties that life presents.
If I Were a Fish arr. Roger Emerson, Unison/2-part with piano
Bullying online – it’s a heartbreaking fact that most young people have to deal with (sometimes on a daily basis), and this song just posits, “what if we don’t need this anymore”? Why can’t we just accept others for who they really, truly are – and why can’t we just say it in a super-cute and indie folk rock kind of way 
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