Be where the music is! Stanton’s Sheet Music hosts Misato Hanawa and her masterclass and recital series, “Project: Sound” on October 26th, starting at 11am in the James E. Strouse Recital Hall inside Stanton’s Sheet Music.

Misato Hanawa is taking the classical saxophone to new heights. An emerging international player, she has won prizes and acclaim in her native Japan and Europe. Ever eager to expand the appeal of the saxophone, she frequently premieres new works by current composers, as well as lesser known works by established composers. As a cultural ambassador, she loves performing for audiences unfamiliar with both the classical saxophone and Japan. She previously performed in the U.S. as part of Project: Sound, which brings elite performers and composers from Japan, China, Korea, and the United States to West Virginia and Ohio.

She regularly wows audiences with her lustrous tone and brilliant technique. Because of her international profile, incredible musicianship, and ambassadorship, she brings the best in classical music concerts and prestige to any venue, making her an asset in drawing different parts of the community together in one place.

Misato offers world-class classical saxophone recitals, masterclasses on saxophone, and talks on Japan and the saxophone.

Recommended donation is $10 for this event.

RSVP to our Facebook event for Hanawa’s bio and more!

On June 21st over 1,000 cities in more than 120 countries will be celebrating Make Music Day from sunup to sundown. This all day festival welcomes everybody to make music anywhere! Play outside or on social media, just MAKE MUSIC!

France started Fête De La Musique in 1982 to celebrate free and live music everywhere with everyone. Translated, Fête De La Musique means both “festival of music” and “make music!” Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, was chosen for the new holiday. Make Music Day has grown in such popularity that it shuts down the streets in France so musicians may take over!

Make Music Day can be organized as a small back yard concert or as a national event. The NAMM Foundation took up the US sponsorship of Make Music Day. They have resources for those who want to host an event. You can even join their Make Music Alliance to get assistance in promotion, sponsorship, and tech support – visit makemusicday.org if you want to know more.

This is Stanton’s Sheet Music’s third year participating in Make Music Day. Each year, we leave our recital hall open to those who would like to make music. This year, we are featuring some of our very own Sheet Music Specialists as our featured musicians. Catch any of our performances on our Facebook page!

If you participate from home, consider sharing your performance on social media and giving us a shout out! Feel free to tag us and use these hashtags to reach more people!

#makethemostmusic #MakeMusicDay

Wearing ear plugs is something few performing musicians do. We worry about communication and our effectiveness in playing, so we tend to forgo the plugs – but AFTER experiencing hearing loss is not the time to start worrying about protection. Here are some educational resources to help you protect one of your most valuable musical assets – your hearing!

• Read this article to learn more about the workings of the inner ear, how to recognize hearing loss symptoms, and how to prevent more damage: The Musician’s Guide to Hearing Protection – from a Doctor!
• Read this article to learn about the different types of ear plugs and the components that make them: Musicians’ Hearing Protection: A Review
• Use this resource to find the right ear plug for you: Which Musicians Earplug is Right for You?
• Did you know, sound at or above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss? What is ALARA? Read about the increase in citizens with hearing loss and learn about steps to effective noise control in our community: What Is a Safe Noise Level for the Public?
• Recently, a viola player in the UK won a compensation case for hearing damage from the horn section of a performance. The volume reached at least 137 decibels. Read the article here.
• Hearing loss can end your career and change how you live your life. Music educators are no exception. Check out some more resources to have on your phone to regulate your classroom rehearsals:
  The Best Phone Apps to Measure Noise Levels
  3 Free Classroom Noise Level Monitors

Whether you’re nearby or you travel a bit to get here, Stanton’s is always worth the trip! Got your family with you? Pair your trip to Stanton’s with one of these kid-friendly summer events in downtown Columbus.

Ken, one of our Band Education Specialists, his 5-year old son Aiden, and their family traverse Columbus year-round, attending arts and other family-friendly events. Soon, 6-month-old Olivia will join the fun! These events are Ken recommended and Aiden approved! You might even catch Ken performing at some of them with Swing’s the Thing Big Band.

Learn about America’s Musical Journey at COSI May 24 through September 3. Trace the roots of American music and explore the great music cities. Voted #1 Science Center in the Country by Parents Magazine, be sure to check out COSI’s classic exhibits, Planetarium, recently added AMNH Dinosaur and Special Exhibition Galleries, the Science of Big Machines in June (an Aiden favorite!), and Family Friday Nights!
Show Times: 12 pm, 2 pm, 4 pm
Need: A ticket! Visit cosi.org/exhibits/amj for info.

Grove City Summer Sizzle Concert Series is free and open to the public most Friday evenings.
Date: June 1-August 17. Check out the performance line up here
Need: Lawn chair

Grandview Heights Public Library hosts an annual Music on the Lawn concert series, now in it’s 33rd year. Check out the performance line up at ghpl.org/music.
Dates: Tuesdays in June and July, 7:30-8:30 pm
Need: Lawn chair

Support the arts and artists at the Columbus Arts Festival!
Dates: June 8-10
Need: Good walking shoes

Enjoy the Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival, a three day cultural celebration with some of Central Ohio’s best musicians, free kid-friendly crafts, rides, food, and more.
Date: June 15-17, Creekside Park and Plaza in Gahanna
Need: Lawn chair (hard plastic ones will also be available)

Jam-pack your summer with activities! The Columbus Children’s Festival is a free festival just for kids at Westerville North High School.
Date: June 16
Need: a kid (or more!)

Join us downtown for Red, White, and Boom, a long-time Stanton’s favorite! Check out all the different activities at the different locations. Fireworks are viewable from every activity station.
Date: July 3
Need: Good walking shoes

The Columbus Commons is an outdoor theatre right around the corner from Stanton’s. Enjoy events of all sorts all summer long, including the Columbus Symphony Orchestra Pops concerts.
Need: Lawn chair, cash for food and beverage

Meet in Heritage Park to celebrate 45 years of music and arts at the Westerville Music & Arts Festival!
Dates: July 14th and 15th
Need: Lawn chairs

Columbus Jazz & Rib Fest – need the event title say more? Gather in Bicentennial and Genoa Parks on the Scioto Mile.
Date: July 20-22nd
Need: Lawn chair

Enjoy classical music in a family-friendly Pro Musica Columbus concert series that is free and open to the public. Meet at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Need: Lawn chair

Check out more festivals and events in Columbus with Columbus Underground.

recommended by Dan Clark, School Orchestra Specialist

Not off the press yet, but coming soon from Alfred publishing, here are some of the standouts in our perusal of scores and listening to Fall 2015 titles.  It is likely that these titles will be on  Stanton’s Summer Reading Sessions at the Ohio State University String Teacher Workshop, July 5 – July 11.

Impact by Bob Phillips  (43851)……………………………….$56.00

A truly powerful concert piece that honors the impact teachers have on the lives of others, this original work is a perfect centerpiece for concert and festival programming. Rhythmically exciting, with great parts for all sections, this is a must-have. (4:30)

Pi Tunes by Richard Meyer (43825)……………………………………………………..$62.00

Try assigning the first 32 digits of Pi to a scale degree to create five melodies that flow together, and you’ll have a start to this awesome composition. With a light jazzy feel, driving accompaniments, and features of all sections, here’s another creative hit from the master. (4:20)

MORE TOP OF THE POPS FOR STRING ORCHESTRA 2015

More TOP Choices of recent popular music for Spring Concerts

Recommended by Dan Clark, School Orchestra Specialist

T=Teaching Elements to make a piece educational as well as fun
O=Orchestrated with active and interesting parts for everyone
P=Programmable for the most audience and player enjoyment

Shake It Off arranged by Larry Moore
#04491541 – Grade 3 – $50.00
Taylor Swift’s monster hit with insanely catchy pop hooks galore.

Uptown Funk arranged by Larry Moore
#04491535 – Grade 3 – $55.00
Super funky R&B throwback from Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars.

Counting Stars arranged by Sean O’Loughlin
#04491498 – Grade 3 – $50.00
One Republic’s uplifting radio smash about knowing what’s important in life.

Game of Thrones arranged by Larry Moore
#04491474 – Grade 3 – $50.00
Spirited three-quarter-time theme from the HBO TV series Game of Thrones.

The Hanging Tree arranged by Robert Longfield
#04491533 – Grade 2.5 – $45.00
Theme from the super popular film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.

Dan Clark has worked at Stanton’s since 1979, primarily with orchestra music and print promotions.  A “working” musician, he’s a classical cellist, a rock & jazz bassist and a folk & country guitarist/singer. His free time is spent with family or reading, gardening, cycling and working puzzles. He also has a reputation as a pretty good joke teller. Seriously.

Recommended by Dan Clark, Orchestra Specialist

School orchestra directors,  it’s time to think about programming your recruitment concerts for your elementary school students!  Here are some new and standard pieces you should consider for recruiting that are easy to work up for your high school string orchestra and will be exciting and enthralling to your elementary prospects.

STRING SECTION FEATURES

41271 – Who’s Who? - by Richard Meyer
An introduction to the String Orchestra

SO235C – Wire Choir Workout – by Richard Stephan
Every section gets the spotlight

5625 – Serendipity Suite – by Richard Meyer
Shows the unique quality of each instrument

MOVIE MUSIC

43769 – Everything is Awesome -arr. Ralph Ford

NEW from the Lego Movie

04491408 – Happy – arr. Larry Moore
04491446 – Happy – arr. Robert Longfield
NEW from Despicable Me 2

04491404 – Let It Go – arr. Larry Moore
04491410 – Let It Go – arr. Robert Longfield
04491412 – Music from Frozen - arr. Robert Longfield
from Disney’s Frozen

SOM01010 – Themes from Harry Potter - arr. Paul Cook

NOVELTIES

20795 – One-Bow Concerto – by Richard Meyer
Pass the bow among your principal players

31583 – Prelude to the Afternoon on a Farm – arr. Bob Phillips
Famous classical and folk melodies with an animal twist

BAS38 – Aunt Rhodie’s Appetite - by Joseph Compello
BAS44 – Aunt Rhodie’s Diet – by Joseph Compello
Nice ‘n’ easy folk tunes with narrator and “actors”

FIDDLE FROLICS

ST6365 – Perpetual Fiddle Motion - by Brian Balmages
Non-stop fiddling for an impressive display

04626198 – Duelin’ Fiddles – by Arthur Smith
Fiddling takeoff on Duelin’ Banjos

04490086 – Orange Blossom Special - by Ervin Rouse
Perennial bluegrass favorite

RECOGNIZABLE CLASSICS

ST6276 – Allegro con Brio – arr. John O’Neill
Famous first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth

SO328C – London Symphony – J. Woolstenhulme
Very playable rendition of the Haydn masterpiece

18837 – Spring from The Four Seasons – arr. Richard Meyer
Faithful, easy arrangement – youngsters love Vivaldi!

12774 – Eine Kleine Nachtmusic – arr. Merle J. Isaac
Why not pick up a fresh copy of this standard?

Dan Clark has worked at Stanton’s since 1979, primarily with orchestra music and print promotions.  A “working” musician, he’s a classical cellist, a rock & jazz bassist and a folk & country guitarist/singer. His free time is spent with family or reading, gardening, cycling and working puzzles. He also has a reputation as a pretty good joke teller. Seriously.

recommended by Ken Tilger and Rachel Steele

The concert schedule for lots of schools is the same year-in and year-out.  Consider shaking things up this year with a “combo” concert!  Combine your groups across levels (imagine how big your band will be with students grades 5-12!) or across genres (your 6th grade choir would love to sing a piece or a medley with your high school jazz band!).

Ending the school year with a “mass” concert of bands in all grade levels is a common enough practice.  It’s great for your beginner students to hear the more advanced groups, and good for your high school bands to remember how exciting that first year of band was.  Of course, once you have all of those kids in the same room, everyone wants to hear them play together.  It’s the same challenge every year:  Pieces that are easy enough for your beginners make your older students roll their eyes; but who wants to spend the time re-writing and editing a grade 4 piece so that your 5th graders can play too?

THERE IS A SOLUTION that doesn’t involve you earning more grey hairs!  Several pieces are available that are specifically designed for this purpose, with all of the work done for you.  Each of the pieces below comes in two or three different versions that are intended to be played together.

Band-O-Rama by Sandy Feldstein and Larry Clark

High School Set (PT-YCB06A-00)………………………………………………….$40.00

Elem./Intermediate Set (PT-YCB06B-00)…………………………………….$40.00

Band-O-Rama is a wonderful march designed for combined performance of beginning, intermediate and high school bands. The composition is available in two versions, one for high school band and one with parts for both elementary and intermediate bands.   Your high school students will play their parts (an easy grade 3) without much effort, while elementary students will need to be able to play in the keys of Bb and Eb Concert (limited range) and have mastered the dotted quarter/eighth note rhythm.  This piece is in the standard form of an American march, so it’s a great piece to being teaching about that form and tradition.

Shorewood Overture by Michael Sweeney

All-In-One Set, serves all three levels (04003858)………………………………..$95.00

Rather than the typical massed band number where everyone plays at once, this ingenious overture is written for 3 separate levels of player and allows the players of each level to be featured briefly by themselves, along with sections where everyone plays together. The easiest level includes nothing more difficult than 8th notes (no dotted rhythms) and all clarinet notes under the break, while the intermediate part is perfect for your older middle school students, involving more complex rhythms and an expanded range.  In addition, the “Level 3” parts include cues (also in the Level 3 score) allowing the older students to “jump in” for security if needed.  Includes scores and parts for all levels!

Winged Victory by Brian Balmages

Grade 4 Version (B1340)………………………………………………………………..$75.00

Grade 2.5 Version (B1342)……………………………………………………………..$50.00

Grade 1 Version (B1341)…………………………………………………………………$40.00

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more powerful and inspiring work with such variety of styles and musical material. The eternal fight for freedom and the spirit of community form the groundwork for this impressive mix of proud fanfares, undaunting rhythms, and heartfelt lyrical passages.  The most difficult version is a true grade four, providing a challenge for your older musicians, while even the earliest beginners can handle the easiest version.  The intermediate version has simplified variants of the more difficult material in the fanfare sections, allowing them to be a big part of the action.  Beginner band directors should be aware the the elementary students do rest for a large portion of the piece, so working on musicianship and listening skills is a must!

About the authors:

Ken is a former band director, and has been with Stanton’s since 2004. He enjoys comic books, playing with his young son, and plays saxophone with Swing’s the Thing Big Band. You should check out their album “Walk On Out the Door” available on iTunes and Amazon.

Rachel has been working in the choral department at Stanton’s since 2013.  She previously taught middle school and high school band and choir for 13 years, and holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music education from The Ohio State University.  Currently a member of the Heisey Wind Ensemble and a musician at Epiphany Lutheran Church (Pickerington, OH,) Rachel also enjoys reading, sewing, baking and the Pittsburgh Steelers!

Recommended by Rachel Steele, School Choral Specialist

The concert schedule for lots of schools is the same year-in and year-out.  Consider shaking things up this year with a “combo” concert!  Combine your groups across levels (imagine how big your band will be with students grades 5-12!) or across genres (your 6th grade choir would love to sing a piece or a medley with your high school jazz band!).

Whether it is a holiday performance, patriotic salute, or end of the year celebration, there is no more powerful statement to your community than a performance that features both your instrumental and vocal performing ensembles.  Show your parents, administrators, and school board members how many lives you and your colleagues touch, and give your students an experience that they will remember for years to come.

Dry Your Tears, Afrika – Music by John Williams, choral adaptation by Audrey Snyder, band and strings arrangements by Paul Lavender

This arrangement from the moving 1997 movie Amistad features poetry by Bernard Dadie in the Mende language, and music by arguably the greatest film composer of all time, John Williams.  Since the choral is available in a variety of versions, this can be done with children’s choir, middle school choir, high school choir or any combination.  In addition, the available String Pak means that your orchestra and/or band could play.  Present this with sensitive program notes, appropriate readings or even excerpts of the film – your students will gain a new perspective on the history involved in this amazing music.

***For more advanced orchestral/choral groups, consider the John Williams Signature Edition of this piece for orchestra, SATB Choir and Children’s Choir.

SATB (08741425) – $1.95               SAB  (08741426) – $1.95               2 Part (08741427) – $1.95

Concert Band (04001735) – $70.00               String Pak (04626104) – $40.00

***John Williams Signature Edition, including orchestral & choral parts (04490084) – $375.00

Carols From the British Isles – arr. Douglas Wagner

I love this carol medley specifically because it uses carols that are not overdone, but still common enough that your audience will recognize the tunes.  Included are “Suogan,” “I Saw Three Ships,” “Good People All, This Christmastime,” and “The Seven Joys of Mary.”  Since the band arrangement and choral arrangement(s) can be done as stand alone pieces, take some time to analyze where you may want to eliminate the melody in the instrumental (so as to feature the choir), or eliminate the chorals for a section to feature your instrumentalists.  The variety of voicings available for the choirs make this piece very do-able for most middle school or high school groups.  The Grade 3 band arrangement should be a cinch for your high school students, and could be playable by a strong middle school group as well.   Students will need the ability to play and sing in 6/8 time, while rhythms and ranges are moderate.

SATB (41762) – $1.85               SAB (41763) – $1.85               SSA (41764) – $1.85

Concert Band (39540) – $65.00

Armed Forces: Pride of America – arr. Larry Clark and Greg Gilpin

4th of July, Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day – we get calls each year for service medleys that can be performed at all of these occasions.  Our instrumental staff is a fan of this arrangement; it has some great quotations of Sousa marches in between the songs for each branch of the service.  Though written primarily for concert band,  there are reproducible string parts that come with the concert band arrangement.  At just under 7 minutes, it can be a bit of chop buster but this is the ONLY arrangement that features the songs of all 5 service branches. It also encourages audience participation by including a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the National Anthem.  A solid piece for all organizations to have in their music libraries.

SATB (CM8973) – $2.75     SAB (CM8974) – $2.75     2 Part (CM8975) – $2.75     TTBB (CM8976) – $2.75

Concert Band w/ reproducible String Parts (CPS61) – $90.00

If you feel your group is ready for a traditional classical experience, try Schubert’s “Mass in G” or Vivaldi’s “Gloria.”  Both are about 20-30 minutes in length, although doing just the “Gloria in Excelsis” movement of the “Gloria” is an option.  One of the representatives in our choral department will be happy to help you if you’d like more information on pursuing either of these large works.

For more recommendations, give us a call at 1-800-42-MUSIC or email us at choral@stantons.com  Previous posts in this series : Men’s Combo Concerts; Women’s Combo Concerts; High School Choir w/ Children’s Choir

Rachel Steele has been working in the choral department at Stanton’s since 2013.  She previously taught middle school and high school band and choir for 13 years, and holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music education from The Ohio State University.  Currently a member of the Heisey Wind Ensemble and a musician at Epiphany Lutheran Church (Pickerington, OH,) Rachel also enjoys reading, sewing, baking and the Pittsburgh Steelers!

By Rachel Steele, School Choral Specialist

A few months ago, my colleague in the instrumental department, Ken Tilger, wrote a post about how that department picks the items for their promotions.  Not to be outdone, I’d like to take the opportunity to let you know how I and my partner in crime, Jen Sper, pick the items for our school choral promotions.

In late winter or early spring, publishers begin to send us their new releases for fall.  We get stacks of music (with demo CDs) to review from Hal Leonard (including Shawnee, Walton, Boosey & Hawkes, G. Schirmer, Pavane, Fred Bock etc.), Alfred (including Lawson-Gould), Lorenz (including Santa Barbara and Heritage), Carl Fischer (including BriLee), Hinshaw, Alliance, and a few other smaller publishers.  If you are thinking “Wow, that is quite a bit of music,” you’d be correct.  In fact, if you assign each piece an average listening/evaluation time of 3.5 minutes, we spend about 2,200 minutes, or 48 hours, or 6 full working  days (no lunch or potty breaks!) listening to more than 800 new releases.  For more data on our listening, scroll to the bottom.

When we listen, we’re not only keeping an ear out for our in-house promotions, but also for selections for our clinics (such as Stanton’s Super Session and Excellence in Choral Literature), OMEA Large Group Select Suggestions, and even music for Christmas, graduation and other special occasions.

Round 1

Jen and I sit with the octavo in front of us and listen to every single selection from beginning to end.  We write our impressions on the cover of the octavo, usually just a few choice words or phrases.  After this, a piece goes into either the “no” or the “maybe” pile.  Our “no” pile is quite a bit larger than our “maybe” pile.  We consider it a good release if 25-30% of a publisher’s titles end up in the “maybe” category.

Round 2

Now that we’ve combed through the riff-raff, it’s time to consider the balance of our selections for our in-house promotions.  We sort our “maybe” pile by voicing, and then by genre.    Just like good concert programing, we are looking for a variety of styles – current pop, classic pop, broadway, folk songs, spirituals, world/multi-cultural, holiday music and various foreign languages.

Round 3

Now it’s time to play through selections at the piano.  We grab a genre and play through, looking for things like:

1.  Is it well written/voiced in all parts?

2.  Will students/teachers get something educational out of this?

3.  Is it enjoyable to sing/play/teach?

4.  Is it appropriate for school?

5.  Will it appeal to a wide variety of customers?

6.  If the song is available in multiple voicings, is one better than the other?  Why?

The answers to these questions will usually make our choices pretty clear, and then it’s time to make our lists, spreadsheets, and the actual promotional materials that you receive in your mailbox!

By the Numbers – This table shows the number of pieces that we promoted this year by publisher, and the percentage of their total offerings that we promoted.  You’ll see that even those publishers with the highest percentage of promoted items rarely break the 30% mark.

Other Points of Interest

• Jen and I only look at promotions for school choral.  We have two other people who work specifically on selections for church choirs, and they have even more selections to listen to than we do!
• While it might sound like a cushy job to sit and listen to music for 8 hours a day, it can be mentally exhausting after a while.
• No, we don’t always agree, but you’d be amazed at how often 2 very opinionated people say the EXACT same thing about a particular piece.
• If there is something that one of us truly believes is worth fighting for, the other one will generally give in.
• The best part about the process is discovering a new piece that is just amazing!

We believe that devoting quite a bit of time and effort to this process is very important.   The 75 or so selections that make the cut are things that we recommend to you, our valued customers, for the entire school year. If you have questions about this process (or would like some recommendations), please feel free to give us a call at 1-800-42-MUSIC, ext. 1.

Rachel Steele has been working in the choral department at Stanton’s since 2013.  She previously taught middle school and high school band and choir for 13 years, and holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music education from The Ohio State University.  Currently a member of the Heisey Wind Ensemble and a musician at Epiphany Lutheran Church (Pickerington, OH,) Rachel also enjoys reading, sewing, baking and the Pittsburgh Steelers!

Monster Mash

Words and Music by Greg Gilpin

Recommended by Rachel Steele, School Choral Specialist

Admit it…you smiled a little when you saw the words “Monster Mash!”   This Greg Gilpin choral arrangement of the one hit wonder from Bobby “Borris” Picket and the Crypt-Kickers has great potential for silliness.  The spoken solo we all know so well from the original version steals the show, and the choral parts are a snap to teach, full of ’60’s doo-wop fun.  Consider some of these ideas to use “Monster Mash” in performance or in your classroom:

• Teach your kids about pop music in the 1950’s and 60’s, especially dances popular with teenagers, like the Mashed Potato and the Twist.  Try out some dance moves as you sing the song, or let small groups work on choreography for a section of the piece.
• Ask a male teacher or even a principal (who doesn’t mind making a fool of themselves) to be your “surprise guest soloist.”  You can reveal your guest to the choir a few days before the performance when he shows up to rehearse, and then enlist them as your co-conspirators.  Ask the students to keep the identity of the soloist a mystery from their parents, friends, and concert guests-they’ll feel exclusive and you’ll give them a great bonding experience.
• Split up the spoken solo among your students who want to “ham it up.”  Let them do a quick costume change backstage before they come out for their portion.
• If you have some students who are into audio sampling, let them come up with your “background track” full of spooky lab sounds.  Better yet, take your whole class to the computer lab and see what they can come up with!

For more novelty number ideas, or great pieces for recruiting, give us a call at 1-800-42-MUSIC.  Shop Stanton’s for all your Spooky Sheet Music needs!

Rachel Steele has been working in the choral department at Stanton’s since 2013.  She previously taught middle school and high school band and choir for 13 years, and holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music education from The Ohio State University.  Currently a member of the Heisey Wind Ensemble and a musician at Epiphany Lutheran Church (Pickerington, OH,) Rachel also enjoys reading, sewing, baking and the Pittsburgh Steelers!

The concert schedule for lots of schools is the same year in and year out.  Consider shaking things up this year with a “combo” concert!  Combine your groups across levels (imagine how big your band will be with students grades 5-12!) or across genres (your 6th grade choir would love to sing a piece or a medley with your high school jazz band!)

Combo Concerts: Men

Recommended by Rachel Steele, School Choral Specialist

One of the most common complaints we hear from choral directors is “I just don’t have enough boys!”  Well, we say feature the boys you do have-if you build it, they will come!  Even though it can be difficult from a logistical standpoint, combining the male members of your choirs from all levels into one group and can have big dividends.  The younger boys will look up to your high school men, and your older men will be gratified that you trust them enough to be examples for your younger students.  Below, we suggest a few pieces that would be great for boys of all levels to perform together. While these are all in men’s voicings, many have high Tenor or Tenor I parts that can be sung by your youngest guys, even those with unchanged voices.

Brooklyn’s Here - arr. Mac Huff  TB 00123858

Music from Disney’s Broadway smash hit “Newsies” is the perfect vehicle for making your men feel good about singing.  The character’s in the show are boys in the same age range as your guys, and the historical context gives many teaching opportunities.  The catchy melody of “Brooklyn’s Here” is in an easy 2 part arrangement, great for groups of all sizes.  When the tenor part does run low, it almost always double in the bass part, or can be easily taken up the octave for your youngest singers.  The “all for one and one for all” attitude creates a great bonding experience.

Baba Yetu – Christopher Tin/arr. Derek Machan TTBB 42801

For a large group of guys, you can’t go wrong with Baba Yetu.  This Swahili adaptation of “The Lord’s Prayer” from the video game Civilization IV  has an inspiring African feel and haunting melody that will hook your men on the first page.  Plenty of solo opportunities mean that you can feature a great soloist or various groups of men.  Consider adding ethnic percussion to create a powerful experience your student’s won’t soon forget.

Manly Men (Men’s Chorus Extravaganza) – Kurt Knecht TTBB a cap. 08501442

Sometimes it’s OK to laugh at ourselves just a little.  Poking fun at the men’s chorus tradition and the stereotypes associated with male singers (egotistical tenors vs. super baritone vibrato!) this number is sure to get a giggle (or even a guffaw!)  out of your audiences.  Consider this if you combine men from several high school and/or adult community choirs.

The Vagabond – Mark Patterson  TTB or TBB  BL821

Mark Patterson’s original solo arrangement of this tune (found in the solo collection “Heroes and Vagabonds”) has been a popular choice for years.  This new arrangement for 3 part men captures the feeling of the original solo with a nod to the Robert Louis Stevenson poem of the same name.  The opening solo could easily be moved up the octave, giving an opportunity to showcase your young unchanged voices in their best range.

I Am That Man – Mark Hayes TTBB 31330

Sometimes music education is about life lessons.  I Am That Man is an inspiring piece based on President Barack Obama’s first inaugural address.  Perfect for multi-grade level and multi-generational ensembles, this specifically addresses male students, asking them to be leaders in their community “not by might or power, but with gentleness of heart, with courage and compassion.”  This thought-provoking discussion starter will send a great message to your students and your audience.

There you have it folks…5 great pieces for men’s choir, and not a pirate, sailor, knight or lost girlfriend in sight!  For more recommendations for men’s groups or combination concerts, give us a call at 1-800-42-MUSIC or email us at choral@stantons.com.

Choosing music for your large group program can really keep a director up at night.  There are so many elements that you want to include in your program: varying tempi, foreign language, sacred, secular, accompanied, a cappella, differing time periods, world music,  and selections that show your group can sing in diverse styles.  Check out the selections below to help you on your way to a diverse and educational program!

All the Pretty Little Horses by Andy Beck

(English, secular,  American Folk Song, swing/jazz waltz, MM 152,)

This innovative arrangement presents the well-known American folk song with a jazzy twist. Unexpected, but highly creative, it’s something truly different for concert or jazz groups.

El Capotin arr. Lois Fiftal and Greg Gilpin(Spanish, secular, Puerto Rican Folk Song, MM 198, 3/4 time )

This Puerto Rican folk song has been arranged as a lively partner song using an original melody and both English and Spanish text. Combined with the festive piano accompaniment and shakers for all to play, this spirited choral is a multicultural gem.

For Everything There Is a Season by Jay Althouse (English, sacred, contemporary composer, 4/4 time, MM 84)

This contemporary setting based on this timeless and poignant text deserves a place in your upcoming contest program. Superb choral literature, guaranteed to touch all who hear it.

Kalinka arr. Audrey Snyder  (Russian/English, secular,  folk song, 2/4 time, spirited w/ many tempo changes)

It’s never too early to start planning for spring performances!  Whether you’re looking for a meaningful message, familiar tunes, or a hilarious script, Stanton’s has something for every one.  Check out these new musicals that will motivate and excite both you and your students!

Big Beautiful Planet by Raffi, arr. Mark Brymer

It’s up to me, it’s up to you.  Help this planet earth to stay evergreen, everblue! These words from popular children’s songwriter, Raffi, celebrate our earth – our home, and the importance of working together to take care of it.  Share this message and make a difference in your school and community this year!  This 15-minute revue can be performed in the classroom or on stage. It  features five songs by Raffi, piano/vocal arrangements with simple movement suggestions, reproducible singer parts and short connecting narrations you can easily adapt for groups of varying sizes.  Suggested for grades 2-4.

Summer Camp by John Jacobson and Mac Huff

Welcome to Camp Runamok and the wackiest summer camp experience you could ever wish for!  This musical has everything you love and fear about the summer camp experience, from the morning routine to corny camp skits and the ultimate talent show.  Put away your technology and allow this nostalgic romp to take you on a journey of finding a place to belong, through the mighty highs and comic lows of Summer Camp! This 40-minute musical features seven original songs, with connecting script and the Teacher Edition is filled with quality performance material including piano/vocal song arrangements and choreography, script, helpful production guide and teaching objectives linked to the National Standards for each song. For added value, the ready-to-use student books include songs and script, and will enhance the musical experience for your young aspiring actors/singers!

At the Bandstand! arr. Sally K Albrecht, Jay Althouse, Andy Beck, and Greg Gilpin

When Rockin’ Robin, host of the hit TV show “At the Bandstand!” announces an on-air dance-off to join the popular Bandstand Kids, Cindy and her gaggle of girlfriends jump at the chance!  But in order to succeed, Cindy will need to out-shine the spoiled daughter of the show’s corporate sponsor.  This easy-to-stage musical is an absolute blast, with familiar ’50s songs, clever characters, and hilarious punch lines to spare!

Swamped! by John Jacobson and John Higgins

The swamp is all a-buzz with party preparations galore!  Naturally, the turtles are running late and Bully the Frog is being a bully.  The frogs have learned a new dance they want to share.  The tadpoles are growing appendages (yikes!) and the dragonfly larvae need encouragement to spread their wings and fly.  Lessons of friendship, tolerance, courage to face the future, and more, abound!  This 25-minute musical party features five original songs and easy-to-learn rhyming dialog with over 40 speaking parts.  The enhanced Teacher Edition with Singer CD-ROM includes piano/vocal arrangements with choreography, helpful production guide with staging and costume suggestions, teaching objectives linked to the National Standards for each song, PLUS reproducible singer parts on the enclosed CD-ROM.

Prime Time Nursery Rhymes by Jill and Michael Gallina

Prime Time Nursery Rhymes gives an exciting new twist to four favorite nursery rhymes, and re-imagines them in song!  Crack up with Humpty Dumpty as Old King Cole recites the story of his terrible fall and laugh along with the dog as Little Miss Muffet describes how the cow jumped over the moon, all told in an easy rhyming script.  You’ll be tapping your shoes and dancing along with the Little Old Woman’s children as these witty and comical characters sing each other’s stories like you’ve never heard them before!  This budget-stretching Classroom Kit is perfect for use in Grades K-2.  It contains a reproducible unison collection and an Enhanced StudioTrax CD that includes accompaniment and performance tracks, poster, program, composers info, as well as costuming, staging, and performance suggestions.

Need more ideas or suggestions?  Call or email  Stanton’s Sheet Music and ask to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff members!

It’s the final dress rehearsal of the Noname Symphony Orchestra before their two week American tour.  The conductor complains of chest pains before taking the podium and then collapses backstage. An ambulance is called and the paramedics say that the conductor should pull through, but he will be out of commission for several weeks.

As they rush him to the hospital, the agitated orchestra personnel manager takes the podium and asks if any of the orchestra members feel capable of conducting the rehearsal.  A fellow at the back of the second violins, who has experience as a community orchestra conductor, raises his hand and is given the job of leading the orchestra through their concert program.  He does so well, that the powers that be ask him to conduct all the concerts on the tour, to which he graciously agrees.

The lack of their normal maestro is played down, so there are no huge expectations and the two week concert tour ends up being a smashing success.  The orchestra was well received and they played extremely well, so everyone was happy.  The maestro, now recovered from his rather mild heart attack, was pleased that everything worked out well.  At the first rehearsal after the tour, he was back on the podium to begin working on new repertoire for the next concert.

The violinist who had conducted the concert tour took his normal seat at the back of the second violins.  His stand partner looked at him strangely and said, “Where in the heck have you been?”