Celebrating the Musical Heritage of John Ness Beck

Choral composer and arranger John Ness Beck was born on November 11, 1930 in Warren, Ohio.  After graduating from Warren High School in 1948, he enrolled at The Ohio State University.  In 1952 he graduated from Ohio State with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees with a major in English.  After working for a year in Student Union activities at the State College of Washington, he spent two years in the U.S. Army.  During this time, he became increasingly involved in arranging for various musical groups.  After his discharge from military service, he returned to Ohio State and completed Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees in music with composition as his major.

John was a faculty member of The Ohio State University School of Music for seven years, teaching harmony and theory.  He left the university to become owner and manager of The University Music House, a retail sheet music store in Columbus.  In this capacity, he was able to observe the business side of the music industry, gaining insight into the complexities of music publishing and merchandising.  As his compositions found their way into print and popularity, he joined forces in 1972 with John Tatgenhorst in the creation of Beckenhorst Press.  His reputation as a composer and his experience as a choral director soon led to an increasing demand for appearances as guest conductor and lecturer at various music clinics and festivals throughout the country.  John has left a wonderful legacy of music to be enjoyed by all.

The musical heritage of John Ness Beck is well-known here in the central Ohio area, but those of you in other areas around the country may not be as familiar with his vast catalogue of work.  If you’re still looking for pieces for December concerts, check out his Lullaby or Where is the Child?  Some other long-time favorites are Canticle of Praise, Benediction, and Consecration.  Solo singers will find many options in the collections Sacred Songs of John Ness Beck and Hymn Settings of John Ness Beck.

Contact us for more information.

Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir

Want to be a part of something new and exciting?  Composer Eric Whitacre is in the process of compiling his second Virtual Choir on YouTube.  Begun as an experiment on Eric’s blog in May, the final product (a massed “virtual choir” performance of Sleep) was posted to YouTube in July.  Singers from around the world recorded themselves performing their individual part of the work and posted it, and Eric compiled all the individual recordings into an amazingly musical mass performance!

Now the internet community is preparing the perform Lux Aurumque.  The deadline to submit YOUR performance is December 1st, 2009.  Eric has posted a conductor track with some performance suggestions and tips on his blog. 

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to be a part of this amazing undertaking, and please let us know if you decide to participate!  To quote Eric, “Our goal this time is to take the whole thing to the next level and try to create a truly musical experience, a graceful and delicate performance full of passion and life and light.  Share your voices and your souls with the world!”

Online Resources for Public Domain Materials

Are you aware that there are a number of online libraries for sheet music in the public domain? While not an authoritative resource, these sites can be very useful for research, educational exercises and, in some cases, even performance.

The Choral Public Domain Library (CPDL) is a large archive of free choral music. Anyone may contribute, so selections range from early music to the unpublished work of current composers.

International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) is a WIKI site offering scanned-in public domain scores which can be browsed by composer, time period or instrument.

Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA) contains an EXTENSIVE list of links to other online public domain libraries.

Paul Manz – 1919-2009

Beloved composer, organist and church musician Dr. Paul Manz passed away in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday evening, October 28.  He was 90 years old.  He died surrounded by his family while they sang his famous motet, “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come.”

Manz long served the church as recitalist, composer, teacher and leader in worship.  He was Cantor Emeritus at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Luke, Chicago, Illinois; as well as Cantor Emeritus of Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  He was the director of the newly established Paul Manz Institute of Church Music, and was Professor Emeritus of Church Music at Christ Seminary Seminex at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

As a performer, Manz was most famous for his celebrated hymn festivals.  Instead of playing traditional organ recitals, Manz would generally lead a “festival” of hymns from the organ, in which he introduced each hymn with one of his famously creative organ improvisations based on the hymn tune in question.  The congregation would then sing the hymn with his accompaniment.  Sometimes he would play an improvisation between each sung stanza, as with his well-known variations on the tune, ST. ANNE, sung to the Isaac Watts text “Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past” with which he would traditionally end each festival.  Many volumes of these improvisations have been written out and published and are played by church organists throughout the world.

Click here for Manz’s full obituary, and here for a beautiful recording of his choral motet, “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come.”

How-to: Musical Rentals and Performance Permission

Stanton’s Sheet Music receives many inquiries from customers who “just got put in charge of the school musical” and want to know where to start. Although MANY choral/band directors and drama teachers are also expected to direct musicals, it seems that most college courses skip right over this topic. One of your first steps will be to decide upon the musical you’d like to stage. While Stanton’s does sell Broadway vocal collections, choral/band arrangements and other musical theater products including most Broadway Junior productions, we CANNOT contract the licensing rights that give you legal permission to perform the work—for that you must contact the appropriate licensing company. Some of the largest licensing companies are:

Musical Theater International
Since its founding in 1952, MTI has been supplying musical materials to theatres worldwide, whether it is the newest hit from the Broadway or London stage, or a timeless classic. MTI has been a driving force in cultivating new work and in extending the production life of the great American musicals such as Guys and Dolls, West Side Story, Fiddler On The Roof, Les Misérables, Annie, Damn Yankees, The Music Man, Godspell, Little Shop Of Horrors, and the musical theatre collection of Stephen Sondheim, among others.

Rogers and Hammerstein Organization
Founded by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II more than 60 years ago, the R&H Organization represents a wide variety of entertainment copyrights and over 200 writers. In addition to Rodger & Hammerstein classics like The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, The King and I, and South Pacific, they also offer a range of popular musicals including Annie Get Your Gun, The Light in the Piazza, Babes in Arms, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc
Tams-Witmark licensed the first high school production of a Broadway musical approximately 75 years ago. Today, thousands of schools and community theatres are presenting Tams-Witmark musicals each year, including A Chorus Line, Anything Goes, Bye Bye Birdie, The Wizard of Oz, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Oliver, Hello Dolly, My Fair Lady, Cabaret, Crazy for You, Forty-Second Street, Camelot, Kiss Me Kate, Gypsy and Brigadoon.

Samuel French
With offices in New York City, London, Hollywood and Studio City, California, Samuel French has been representing playwrights since 1830. They began hosting the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Play Festival in 1975 which has resulted in the publishing of 181 new plays since. Some of their most popular offerings are: Anne of Green Gables, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Chicago, Clue: The Musical,  Grease,  Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Mikado, Nunsense, Peter Pan, The Rocky Horror Show, and The Secret Garden.

All of these reputable companies offer script preview programs (similar to Stanton’s 21-Day Trial) and helpful websites to guide you through musical licensing procedures. Several variables determine how much money the performance rights will cost, and the only way to get a quote is to begin a dialogue with a licensing company. Stanton’s advises you to begin this process as far in advance as possible so that you have plenty of time to research and choose the best show for your particular situation.

Now all you have to do is cast the show, run rehearsals, build sets, sew/rent costumes, book a pit, and print programs. Simple, right?

Winter Concert Choices for SAB Choirs

Finding appropriate music for 8th, 9th and 10th grade singers can be a challenge – “3-part mixed” voicings often aren’t appropriate for the boys’ developing ranges, and much of the SAB literature out there sometimes seems like just “watered down SATB.”  It can be difficult to find repertoire with the right level of difficulty for the singers without it being too cheesy, too simplified or too complicated.  For your holiday concert this year, try one of these wonderful octavos with your choir; both are thoughtfully and skillfully crafted specifically for the SAB choir:

Willow Carol by Bruce Campbell takes it’s text from Kenneth Grahame’s “The Wind in the Willows,” in which the field mice rejoice that the miracle of the Christ Child was first witnessed by animals in the stable.  The joyful, singable melody will immediately capture your heart.

It’s Time for Caroling is a wonderfully sophisticated light-concert choice.  By creatively weaving familiar Christmas tunes through a charming narrative about caroling, Valerie Showers Crescenz has crafted a fresh and unique secular piece for the SAB choir.

If you’re looking for more winter and holiday concert recommendations for your SAB choir, please contact us!

Wind Band Invitational and New Music Reading Session

There’s a bite in the air and the leaves are changing colors and dropping from the trees. It’s time for the Eighth Annual 2009 New Concert Band Reading Clinic! This extremely popular clinic weekend, especially helpful for 1st and 2nd year teachers, allows participants to have a “hands on” experience with the latest and best new music. The featured composer/director this year is Ray Cramer, famed musician, band pedagogue and director emeritus of Indiana University. Taking place on Friday and Saturday, November 13-14, at Capital University in Columbus, OH. Make your plans now to attend. Navigate to the clinic website for details.

“Christmas Lullaby” by Jason Robert Brown

Fans of Jason Robert Brown will be thrilled to find his music now appearing in choral repertoire.  Christmas Lullaby is from the memorable 1995 theatrical revue and album Songs for a New World, which put Brown on the musical map.  This exquisite choral is a reflection on the blessing of Mary and the miracle within us all.  It’s particularly powerful in the SSA voicing – “And I will be like Mother Mary with a blessing in my soul and the future of the world inside of me…”

Also available from Brown for choirs is Brand New You, from his new musical 13.  Packed with infectious energy, this Broadway powerhouse absolutely rocks with youthful spirit and humor!  A fantastic concert closer.

Contact us for more terrific recommendations for your choir!

Honor Our Veterans with Music

This November, help your community honor those who have served and protected our country by featuring your choir at your local Veteran’s Day events.

I Dream a World by Andre J. Thomas sets an introspective and contemplative text by African-American poet Langston Hughes – “I dream a world where man No other man will scorn, Where love will bless the earth and peace its paths adorn.”  A beautifully emotional poetic thought and equally moving music, now available in a new SSA voicing.

From the musical Chess, Anthem is a stirring tribute honoring the country we love.  Beautifully expressing the idea that no matter how far and wide one travels, our country is always a part of us, it closes with the moving sentiment “My land’s only borders lie around my heart.”

Both of the above selections have instrumental accompaniment parts available, so you can join forces with your school orchestra, local community band or other instrumental ensemble; contact us for more information.  For those wishing to highlight a solo instrumentalist, Joseph M. Martin’s Song for the Unsung Hero features a powerful trumpet descant on the last verse.  Incorporating “America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee),” this emotive choral is a moving tribute to those who dedicate their lives to preserving our freedom and keeping our country safe.

For more patriotic suggests for your Veteran’s Day commemorations, call us at 1-800-426-8742 or visit us online.

Hanukkah Music for Choirs

Looking for the perfect Hanukkah piece for your December choral concert?  Take a look at one of these selections:

Jason Robert Brown is best known for his award-winning musical theatre writing (Parade, The Last Five Years, Songs for a New World), and his Chanukah Suite is arranged with his usual flair.  Set in three movements: S’vivon al Hanisism, Mi Yemalel, and Ma’oz Tsur.

Concert pianist and composer Jeffrey Biegel has penned Hanukah Fantasy, an incredibly sophisticated choral tour-de-force.  This work features a full panorama of choral textures over a fresh harmonic palette.  A great feature for an accomplished accompanist.

Perfect for middle school choirs, Kindle the Candles Tonight is a memorable Hanukkah original that employs a fluid piano accompaniment, picturesque imagery, melodic vocals and effective dynamic contrasts.  A great opportunity for students to learn about the history of this holiday and its meaning for the families who celebrate it. 

For a lighter (and maybe a little silly) approach to the festival of lights, check out How Do You Spell Chanukah? (complete with placards displaying all the spelling variations!) or Chanukah in Santa Monica.

Need more ideas?  Contact us!