Church Cantatas for Lent and Easter

Lead your congregation in Lenten or Easter worship with one of these dynamic cantatas!

Master composer Joseph M. Martin brings us The Lenten Sketches, a series of musical tableaus illustrating the pivotal final day of Christ’s earthly ministry, the triumphal entry, the last supper, the garden of Gethsemane and the crucifixion.  With a performance time of approximately 30 minutes, this cantata is easily integrated into a worship event.  Expertly orchestrated by Brant Adams, this important work is destined to become a Lenten classic.  Outstanding!

John Leavitt’s Calvary’s Mountain can be used as a special service anytime during Lent or Holy Week, and would be especially appropriate for Palm Sunday or Good Friday when the Passion Narrative is preferred.  The readings are the Passion account according to St. John.  The work can be done with choir alone in a special music presentation or including the congregation for a fully participatory worship experience.

Near the Cross (Suite for Lent or Holy Week) is perfect for groups looking for a shorter option to a complete cantata.  Approximately nine minutes in length, this suite is perfect for incorporation into regular worship.  Three beloved hymns frame the work: Near the Cross reassures us as we journey in the shadow of the cross; Beneath the Cross of Jesus calls us to bear witness once again to Christ’s passion; and I Will Sing of My Redeemer unites us as Christians to affirm our faith in the Christ of the cross.  The music is inspired, accessible, and easily prepared by choirs of all sizes, and the dramatic narrative allows for one or more readers.

For Easter Sunday, Crown Him Lord by Susan Naylor Callaway is an excellent choice.  Originally published in 1998, the familiar Easter hymns and compelling new songs are just as moving today.  From the darkness of the crucifixion to the triumph of the resurrection, “Crown Him Lord” is an easily-prepared cantata which presents the Easter message in a fresh and meaningful way.

For more recommendations for your choir during the upcoming Lenten and Easter season, please call us at 1-800-42-MUSIC or visit us online.

Sacred Choral Reading Session THIS SATURDAY!

Make your plans for the weekend; the Stanton’s Sacred Choral Clinic is THIS SATURDAY January 9th, 2010! This popular annual clinic features new choral publications for Lent, Easter and beyond. The clinic will be held in its usual place at the Battelle Fine Arts Center at Otterbein College in Westerville, OH.

 Attending this clinic is a fantastic way for you to choose new church anthems for your choir by hearing the music read live at the clinic. This January’s clinicians will be Stanton’s own Judy Henry and president emeritus Jim Strouse.

Please feel free to contact Stanton’s at 1-800-42-MUSIC and speak with choral staff member for the details of the event, no pre-registration is necessary for this event. We look forward to seeing you at 8:30 for coffee and doughnuts followed by a wonderful morning of singing!

Happy 2010!

Just relax, kick back and enjoy your day…Stanton’s will be open again tomorrow!

Stanton’s is your partner in music education

Stanton’s got a call a few days ago from a long-time customer who teaches at an inner city school.  She has been teaching for almost forty years, and her students, despite being from an underprivileged area always win top honors at festivals and adjudications.  One of the reasons for their success is her choice of music.  She scours Stanton’s mailed promotions of Top Choices and e-mails and calls our staff to get recommendations and opinions on the music that she chooses.  She has a limited budget, so she wants to get the absolute best music that will be useable for years to come so that she doesn’t waste her valuable funds.  She works hard at finding just the right music and her efforts pay off: her ensembles are the shining stars of their urban environment and students clamor for the chance to play in her groups!

The reason for her recent phone call was to vent her frustration with her fellow teachers.  Her city’s school system doles out about the same amount of money to every school – and it’s not a lot.  The local music store in her area was recently taken over by a larger store from Chicago and for their “Grand Re-Opening” they were offering a large selection of music at a 75% discount.  Out of curiosity (since she had already spent her budget at Stanton’s) she went to see what they had to offer.  It was clear to her that the hugely discounted music was all the dregs from the Chicago store that hadn’t sold because it wasn’t that great to begin with.  She noticed that all the great titles that she had purchased based on Stanton’s recommendations were not among the big sale items.  She realized that the store was just trying to get rid of their junk by offering it at a huge discount.
Her dismay came with the realization that her fellow teachers were thrilled with the chance to get so much music with their meager budget.  They could get $1600.00 worth of music for their $400.00 purchase order.  They were leaving the store loaded with boxes of music that they would probably be disappointed with – but boy, they had a lot of it!  They had done no research on any of it, didn’t see if a place like Stanton’s had recommended it – it was just cheap and they were going to get as much of it as they could.  She couldn’t have been more disappointed in her fellow teachers. They were interested only in quantity not quality.
Acheiving success as a music teacher means putting extra effort into choosing your repertoire. Stanton’s has understood this from their inception in August of 1960.  Mr. and Mrs. Stanton were both school music teachers who were frustrated with trying to find quality music for their students.  They decided to start a music store that would review the music that was published each year and pick the absolute cream-of-the-crop to recommend to teachers so that their customers would have top quality choir, band and orchestra music that could be relied on for a successful school year.
When Jim Strouse took over the business in the late 70’s he kept the same philosophy, and when he passed on the reins to his son, Eric, the vision remained the same.  Stanton’s has prospered because of this approach and has grown into a national leader in retail sheet music.  Our customers can always count on getting A-1 recommendations from the Stanton’s staff, which can only help their music programs improve. As you reflect on the first half of your school year and get ready for 2010, we hope you’ll consider working with Stanton’s.  For almost fifty years, Stanton’s has lived by the credo: “By helping our customers to be successful, we will be successful.”  Thanks to our customers for proving that to be true!

2010 JECO Intercollegiate Jazz Ensemble

The Jazz Education Connection of Ohio (JECO) has completed the audition process and selected the members of the 2010 JECO Intercollegiate Jazz Ensemble. The Jazz Ensemble is chosen in a blind audition by prominent Ohio jazz educators.

The 2010 Intercollegiate Jazz Ensemble will perform at the 2010 OMEA State Convention in Cincinnati, Jan. 28-30, 2010. JECO is extremely excited to have Dr. David Morgan of Youngstown State University directing the ensemble. This is always an outstanding band made up of the best college jazz talent in the state.

The members of the band this year are:

Philip Hilger – lead alto, University of Cincinnati CCM
Dan White – 2nd alto, The Ohio State University
Joe Graziosi  - 1st tenor, The Ohio State University
Jack Finucane – 2nd tenor, University of Cincinnati CCM
Hayden Huffman – bari, Denison University

Matt Hansen – lead trpt, Ohio University
Kyle Granville – 2nd trpt, Capital University
Rick Moose – 3rd trpt, Youngstown State University
Dave Garner – 4th trpt, Youngstown State University

David Gonzalez – lead trombone, Ohio University
Dominic Marino – 2nd trombone, University of Cincinnati CCM
Adam Machaskee – 3rd trombone, University of Cincinnati CCM
James Slike – bass trombone, Ashland University

William Flynn – guitar, Capital University
Allen Braman – piano, University of Cincinnati CCM
Mike Forfia – bass, University of Akron
Zachary Compston -drums, Capital University

The performance will be on Friday evening, Jan 29, 2010 at 9:30pm in the Hyatt Atrium at the OMEA Convention in Cincinnati, OH.

Make the Most of Your Budget Dollar!

Ohio Music Education Association Solo & Ensemble Adjudicated Events are fast-approaching!  If you’re looking to expand your music library with contest literature, you’ll get the most “bang for your buck” by choosing vocal solo collections that contain multiple contest selections.  Many collections (including 20th Century Art Songs, 24 Italian Songs & Arias, 55 Songs by Roger Quilter, Anthology of Spanish Songs, Easy Songs for the Beginning Mezzo-Soprano/Alto, First Book of Tenor Solos, The Lieder Anthology, and Standard Vocal Literature [Soprano]) contain 10 or more contest pieces, making them perfect for really stretching your valuable budget!

Click here for a full listing of vocal collections on the current Solo & Ensemble list and the individual solos each contains.  Need more information?  Please contact us!

Recharge Your Batteries

    Education is a challenging profession, and those in music education realize that teaching music is no different.  Too often the day-to-day details (duties, grades, PO requests, bus forms, permission slips, etc.), in other words, all of the regular responsibilities that have nothing to do with music, or even teaching, can be draining.  When this occurs, it is helpful to revisit why this profession and this particular subject are so important to us, and to hear some stories to make you realize that you are not alone – it’s not just your students, your teaching, or your program experiencing particular problems or challenges.

Two of the best educators, clinicians, and authors to help us get back on track are Dr. Peter Loel Boonshaft and Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser.  If you have ever attended one of their clinics, you know that they will have you rolling on the floor with laughter, and remind you why you want to be a music teacher.  Through true-to-life anecdotes, by challenging mindsets, and suggesting innovative teaching strategies, these two will make you feel better, give you some practical classroom ideas and help you to rediscover your motivation and inspire you to be your very best!  With the Christmas break upon us, wouldn’t this be the ideal time to recharge YOUR batteries?

Dr. Boonshaft’s writings include Teaching Music with Passion, Teaching Music with Purpose, and Teaching Music with Promise.  Be sure to catch him at the 2010 OMEA Professional Conference in Cincinnati, OH January 28-30! 

Dr. Lautzenheiser’s writings include The Art of Successful Teaching, The Joy of Inspired Teaching, Music Advocacy and Student Leadership, and Everyday Wisdom for Inspired Teaching.  A distillation of his student leadership clinics (Leadership, Vision, Commitment, Action) is also available for use with your students (of course, this is nothing like being there in-person!).

All of these items are available from Stanton’s.  Feel free to call (1-800-426-8742), e-mail (greatservice@stantons.com), or just click on the links above to get recharged!

Merry Christmas!

Stanton’s Sheet Music wishes you and your family a warm and happy holiday! Set the mood with this Bing Crosby classic:

The Most Well-Known Christmas Song

Silent Night is the most widely translated, most well-know Christmas song the world over!

“The original lyric for the song in German, Stille Nacht, was written by Joseph Mohr and  the melody was composed by Franz X. Gruber. The carol was first performed 191 years ago on 24 December 1818 at the St. Nicholas church in Oberndorf, Austria. Since then the Christmas song has achieved world wide appeal and it is said that there are over 300 translations of the song in the world.” (from http://www.silentnight.web.za/)

To learn more about this beloved carol, check out The Stille Nacht Association for a very thorough history, Silent Night Web for translations in 139 languages, or Stanton’s website for a variety of arrangements for every combination of instruments and voice.

Stanton’s Top Choices for Concert Band

All right, band directors!  Your elementary and middle school bands are gaining maturity, high school football is done, your Christmas concerts are in the can, you’re getting solos and ensembles doled out to your students and you have a mountain of promotional concert band recordings from a bunch of publishers to check out for winter and spring concerts, festivals and adjudications…
Let Stanton’s give you a hand. Our band staff has already looked at and listened to all the new music from publishers for the 2009-2010 school year and has separated the wheat from the chaff so you don’t have to spend valuable time doing it yourself. Think of us as your partner in music education. Stanton’s choices  will be the best-sounding, most educationally valid and easily programmable pieces of the new year.  Check out the recordings of these Top Choices at www.stantons.com and place an order.  You can’t go wrong!

TOP THREE GRADE 1 CONCERT BAND
LITTLE STAR arr. Rob Grice
Mature sounding setting of Mozart’s Twinkle Variations.
NOMADIC ADVENTURES by Steve Hodges
Reinforce minor tonalities and steady rhythmic patterns.
SUPREMACY by Sean O’Loughlin
Introduce dissonance, musical conflict & resolution.

TOP THREE GRADE 1.5 CONCERT BAND
AZTALAN (City of Mystery) by Michael Sweeney
Mature, mysterious film-score-like effects such as tone clusters.
BIG RAVEN by Vince Gassi
Express art and nature in music with birdcalls, rain and forest sounds.
SHADES OF GOLD by Ed Huckeby
Absolutely beautiful 3/4 ballad to improve balance, blend and phrasing.

TOP THREE GRADE 2 CONCERT BAND
ELECTRICITY by Brian Balmages
Modern harmonies and great percussion writing with intensity.
PATH OF DESTINY by Sean O’Loughlin
A study in contrasts in the style of movie battle music.
WILLOW CREEK FESTIVAL by Steve Hodges
Intriguing harmonies, keys, counterpoint and time signatures.

TOP THREE GRADE 2.5 CONCERT BAND
CELEBRATION AND SONG by Robert Sheldon
Boyant syncopation and lyrical midsection with a short alto sax solo.
A DISTANT LIGHT by James Swearingen
Lyrical and subtly shifting tempos with emphasis on rubato playing.
THE RED BARON by Eric Morales
Musical depiction of the World War I flying ace – even a dogfight!

TOP THREE GRADE 3 CONCERT BAND
CANADIAN FOLK TRILOGY arr by Vince Gassi
A hearty sailor’s song, tender Inuit lullaby and boisterous sea chantey.
CHOREOGRAPHY by Robert Sheldon
Frolic in the ever-changing palette of the many faces of footwork.
A JAMESTOWN TRILOGY by Gary Fagan
Celebrate the proud, indomitable spirit of America’s founding fathers.

TOP THREE GRADE 3.5 CONCERT BAND
EXHILARATION by Larry Clark
A bold and effervescent overture that’s exceptional in every respect.
PIRATES by Travis J. Welter
Prepare to attack, engage in a fierce battle and celebrate with ribald revelry!
ON WINGS OF ANGELS by Barry Milner
Uplifting and spiritual with colorful chord clusters and dramatic modulations.

TOP THREE GRADE 4 CONCERT BAND
BEYOND THE HORIZON by Rossano Galante
Visions of magnificent earthscapes in a work of profound expression.
SHENANDOAH arr. by Randol Alan Bass
Timeless and exquisitely beautiful with an extraordinary whispered ending.
SOUTHERN HYMN by Samuel Hazo
An original hymn overflowing with the reverence and inspiration of a classic.

TOP THREE GRADE 5 CONCERT BAND
ANTIPHONAL FANFARE by Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn
Triumphant and powerful opener  with a focus on rhythmic and melodic polyphony.
MIDNIGHT ON MAIN STREET by Brian Balmages
Explosions and celebrations contrasted with an impressionistic light and shadow blend.
VELOCITY by Robert Sheldon
Built for speed, brimming with style and an astonishing array of textual variations.

See and/or hear some things you like?  Place your order online, email or call Stanton’s at 1-800-42-MUSIC (Ext 2 for band music)  Thanks for your orders–we truly do appreciate them.