Choral Music

Daniel Paulson and VoxMusica commissioned this beautiful a cappella arrangement of Avrom Goldfaden’s beloved Yiddish lullaby. A beautiful solo verse is followed by a lush contrapuntal setting your singers and audience will find very meaningful.

An exuberant Magnificat is paired with an appropriately reflective Nunc dimittis that together have subtle musical connections.

This traditional folk song from Haiti originated as a work song, sung by boatmen in order keep their rowing strokes in sync. The language is Haitian Creole, similar in pronunciation to French, but easier (no silent letters!). Piano accompaniment with simple optional drum. Also available in a version for TTB chorus.

A lyrical carol for SATB choir, this Christmas piece imagines sunrise on the first Christmas morning. “O Gift of Glorious Sunrise” was premiered in Buffalo, NY in December 2015 by the Vocalis Chamber Choir (James Burritt conducting).

A heartfelt piece for SSATTB chorus.

In the poem “Psalm of the Sky,” Rabbi Rachel Barenblat reimagines “The Lord is My Shepherd” (Psalm 23) in a contemporary context. Performers may highlight the many instances of text painting and create contrast between moments of gentleness, boldness, and carefree movement. The last verse of Psalm 23 is included in Hebrew as a coda […]

This arrangement of the well known spiritual would suit a good school, college or community choir. It is light and a little jazzy in style. While it can be accompanied by piano alone, the addition of string bass and solo violin is to be recommended. Drum kit could also be an optional addition from letter […]

This work was commissioned by the Jane Froman Singers of Columbia College, Columbia, Missouri, under the direction of Nollie Moore.

Composed and written for The Calling All Choir while at the Chalk Hill Artist Residency in Healdsburg, California. My first night at the residency I woke up before dawn. The previous evening I was enjoying the sounds of crickets chirping. I expected to hear them that morning, but instead I was met with silence. I […]

A sweet Christmas carol about the kings, the wise men, the shepherds and the angels with words by Sara Teasdale. Premiered by Vocalis Chamber Choir in 2022.  

A lyrical meditation on friendship and loss, Cycle of Friends is a concert centerpiece with texts ranging from Sappho and Emily Dickinson to Tang-dynasty China and pre-Columbian Mexico. A soprano soloist serves as an intimate narrator, while the orchestra supplies vivid, transparent color around lyrical choral writing. Completed and premiered in 1996, a newly revised […]

A theatrical setting of Di Balade Funem Farloyrenem Shefel, a colorful allegory by Yiddish poet Itzik Manger telling the story of a shepherd boy searching high and low for his lost lamb, only to discover that he has found something more important that he didn’t know he was looking for. Follow the score with English subtitles in […]

This short cantata on spring evokes expressive texts by John Milton, anonymous, and E.E. Cummings.

Composer’s Note: “The Red Wheelbarrow,” an innovative environmental/imagist poem I first read as a teenager, struck me as an alluring and joyful means to immerse in a commission by Austin’s Inversion Ensemble for their Planet Home project. The score blossomed during a fellowship at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, a pastoral setting that […]

This setting of the traditional “Hail Mary” prayer takes a new approach, employing a lullaby rhythm in F minor. The voices become a haunting plea for forgiveness and intercession. The piano accompaniment provides support for the singers while still maintaining its own voice.

Steven Paxton’s RAINDROP SONG is a setting of a whimsical poem by Texas poet Chris Willerton, about a talking raindrop. This short, delightful work for treble choir requires a good pianist, and includes short spoken segments for individual speaker as well as full choir.

“Misericordias Domini” was written for Grace Lutheran Church in Hockessin, DE and premiered during the Advent season on December 7th, 2014. The text comes from Psalm 89 and has been set by several composers including Orlando di Lasso and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Although settings of this text are usually used during Advent, this setting is […]

ROY G BIV: The Colors of The Rainbow, for unison children’s chorus (grades 2-8) and piano is an easy, fun, upbeat, and educational song about the visible part of the spectrum. The title stands for “red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet”; the conventional mnemonic for the colors of the rainbow. Newton found white light splits up […]

“Thou God” is the title of a text by Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-general of the United Nations from 1953 to 1961. A deeply moving and personal faith statement, it is set here as an anthem for mixed choir and organ. Hammarskjöld’s book Markings, from which this text comes, is an enduring spiritual classic still widely read […]

Jane Goodall and the Chimps Music and Lyrics by Bruce Lazarus Commissioned and first performed by North Cambridge Family Opera Chorus Jane Goodall went to Gombe to learn about chimps never realizing she would be there to stay. She was told, “stay aloof” but she named them and waited. Oh, Jane Never despair. We see, […]

A short, meditative setting of the familiar Latin hymn text, particularly suitable for use as an introit during the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. Scored for 4-part SATB voices, this motet is simple enough to be enjoyed by volunteer church choirs and professional/collegiate choirs alike.