Back to School Repertoire Suggestions
Every quarter, KyACDA's team of Repertoire and Resources Chairs provide suggestions of diverse, quality repertoire.
Middle School Choirs Repertoire
Jody GravatteMiddle School and Junior High Choirs R&R Chair
Marnel C. Moorman School Martha Layne Collins HS Shelbyville, Kentucky |
Hands Are Knockin'
Kyle Pederson | SA Divisi This is a piece you can teach by rote on the first day of school! There are English parts, but the Arabic is simple enough that you can write out the syllables on a white board. The message of being open to each other also allows us to have those conversations of what it means to work together even if we are different. The divisi is a small 4 part at the end. |
There Will Come Soft Rains
Laura Farnell | 3-Part Mixed This poem showed up on MAP testing in the fall and my students ended up screaming during testing. Great way to tie into core content! This piece is good for the advanced mixed ensemble that you need to challenge right from the get-go. Baritones also get a chance at singing a beautiful melody! It looks difficult but chunks of the piece repeat, so it's easier than it looks. |
Old Joe Clark
Greg Gilpin | SAB Exciting and rhythmic! A great piece for doing small chunks (4 measures) of solfege. It's silly and fun which is exactly what students need in the beginning of the school year. |
World Music Repertoire
Tyler Smith
World Music R&R Chair
North Oldham High School Goshen, Kentucky |
Pagasos
Eduardo Cota | Two Part with Solo “Pegasos” is a song rooted in the childhood memory of riding a Pegasus at the fair on a merry-go-round. Suitable for soprano/alto ensembles or strong middle school groups, this two-part piece is filled with ever-changing meter that challenges your students to internalize the eighth-note pulse and harmonic structure that invites healthy discussion on solfege interpretation. The two parts interchange between heterophonic, homophonic, and polyphonic textures, all while being approachable and singable. This is a Spanish piece that will give plenty of opportunities for working on pronunciation! |
Ikan Kekek
Traditional Malay arr. Yu Hang Tan | SSAA Using a melody derived from only 4 notes, “Do-Re-Mi-Sol” (almost invoking the Pentatonic scale), Yu Hang Tan creates a rich tapestry of lush and varied choral textures to match the expressions and metaphors in the poetry-a traditional poem from Malaysian culture about cooking Ponyfish. A huge plus-this piece includes detailed and accurate IPA charts on the front insert, ensuring that you and your singers can be as authentic as possible. This is a really fun piece that quickly became one of my group’s favorites to work on. |
Evocation (Mon-Nee-Oh)
Hye-Young Cho | SATB “Evocation” is a Korean memorial piece that features poetry recalling the memories of a loved one that was lost. Hye-Young Cho balances a gorgeous piano accompaniment with great melodic and harmonic writing and is structured often with homophonic or partner-style texture. This is a work that challenges students to work within various dynamic ranges and discern when their line might be most important within the progression of the piece. |
Contemporary & Commercial Music Repertoire
John DeFerraroContemporary Music R&R Chair
Scott Co. High School Georgetown, KY |
Ballad of the Witches' Road (Chant Version)
Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, arr. Roger Emerson If you like to program a Halloween concert in the fall, here's a great arrangement by Roger Emerson from the Marvel series Agatha All Along. Available in SATB, SAB, and SSA (the latter if you want to be a bit more faithful to the series' premise!). Replace the piano part in the beginning with handbells for a intro processional idea! |
Go the Distance/Defying Gravity
Alan Menken, David Zippel, Stephen Schwartz, arr. Roger Emerson This fall, I'll be starting my year off with a Broadway & Disney revue, and this mash-up of two iconic songs is a great way to get "bang for the buck", especially with the next part of Wicked being released in theatres this fall! Available in SATB, SAB, and Two-Part! |
Treble Choir Repertoire
Emma HarrisonSSAA Choirs R&R Chair
Oldham Co. Middle School LaGrange, Kentucky |
Al Shlosha D'Varim
Allan E. Naplan | SA This piece is great to introduce a foreign language! I use this with my 6th grade a lot because both parts learn both sections then it just layers on top of each other and includes a beautiful key change with the same music. Can easily solfege it as well! |
We Sing a Jubilant Song
Joseph M. Martin | Two-Part Great song to work on English vowels, triplets, and the dotted quarter note feeling. A fun way to get the year started with an uplifting and accessible song! |
Tenor-Bass Choirs Repertoire
Taylor StricklandTTBB Choirs R&R Chair
Woodford Co. High School Versailles, Kentucky |
Cantate Domino
Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, arr. John Leavitt | TTBB This is a joyful arrangement of the famous Latin text. It is well-suited for beginning choirs with singable lines and manageable tessitura. It’s perfect to introduce singing in another language to your students. You can also eliminate two of the vocal parts to make it a TB piece if needed. |
Pop Songs for Young Men's Chorus
Jerry Estes | TB/TTBB This music provides fun repertoire for your beginning singers. This can be the music that makes your new male singers want to stay in your class. A fun selection of music with melodic lines and rhythmic drive. |
Ave Maria
Franz Biebl | TTBB This is a beautiful piece written for advanced TTBB ensembles featuring strong chordal parts underneath a TTB trio. It gives your advanced choir opportunity for dynamic expression and dramatic effect. |
Lifelong Learning & Community Choirs Repertoire
Terri FosterLifelong Learning & Community Choirs R&R Chair
Louisville Youth Choir Louisville, Kentucky |
Amani (Peace)
Audrey Snyder | Two-Part This piece contains repetitive text for ease of learning at the beginning of the year. There are solo opportunities and fun percussion. This will be a hit with your singers! |
Bringers of Noise
Kyle Pederson | SAB Kyle Pederson's work is dramatic, but not too difficult. Vocal and body percussion and taiko drum accompaniment make this an engaging piece for singers of all ages. |
We Are the Music Makers
Reginal Wright | SATB This is a great anthem for unifying the choir's purpose at the beginning of the year. |
