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.

This Weekend: The 8th Annual “New Music Reading Band Clinic”

It’s a busy, busy time for our band department this week as they prepare for the “Wind Band Invitational” being held at Capital University this coming weekend, Nov. 13 & 14, which includes a new music reading session for high school and middle school band directors.  Registration begins this Friday morning at 7:00, with the Honor Band seating auditions starting at 8:00.  The first reading session will be the “Director’s Reading Band#1,” directed by James Swearingen, Barry Kopetz and Jeff Keller.  After the students have auditioned and seating assignments have been made, the bands will be in rehearsals throughout the remainder of the morning. The first reading band will start its performance at 1:30. 

Throughout the two day event, there will be three reading sessions performed by the All Ohio High School Reading Band, as well as performances by Judi Guegold’s Crestview Middle School and William Thomas’s Lakota East High School bands.  Friday evening’s concert will feature the Capital University Symphonic Winds and Capital University Wind Symphony. Each band will have a presentation of new concert band literture that has been choosen specifically for the clinic. 

This extremely popular clinic weekend is especially helpful for 1st and 2nd year teachers, allowing 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.  This weekend is great for brushing up on your secondary instrument skills playing in the Directors’ Reading Band (bring your own instrument) or sitting back in the auditorium and listening to all of the newly released music being performed. For more details please feel free to contact a Stanton’s represenative or visit the clinics website.

“Al Shlosha D’varim” for SATB

“The world is sustained by three things: by truth, by justice, and by peace.”

These wise words have probably been sung millions of times over in Al Shlosha D’varim, a long-time standard in 2-part choral repertoire.  With the recent publication of a brand-new SATB voicing, mixed choirs can now experience this masterpiece.  Using the universal language of music, Al Shlosha D’varim conveys an important and universal theme through its beautiful simplicity.  Appropriate for a many performance occasions, it could be particularly effective on a winter/holiday concert – and it’s straight-forward enough to be learned quickly!  Click here to hear a sample recording of the wonderful new voicing, or 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!”

It’s the Holiday Season…

…And it’s coming upon us a bit faster than some of us are ready for! Do any of you elementary music teachers need some good ideas for some holiday songs?  Relax–we have some great solutions for you.  One of the best holiday collections we’ve seen is “Around the World at Christmas Time.” This collection has songs from Germany to Mexico and Scandinavia to Israel. The songs in this book can be performed individually or all together as a choral revue. This is a good way for your students to learn a bit about how the holidays are celebrated in other countries as well as here in the good old USA.
Another great collection that has  more upbeat and fun tunes is “All Aboard the Holiday Express”. This collection contains secular holiday tunes and a couple of Hannukah songs as well. Other holiday collections you may want to check out are “Happy Holidays“, “Songs for Christmas” and “Silly Songs & Sing-Alongs for Christmas.”  All of these collections have accompaniment CDs available.
For more information or questions please call us at 1-800-42-music, email or visit our website.

Italian Songs & Arias for Choir

The vocal collection 24 Italian Songs and Arias of the 17th & 18th Centuries has been a staple in the voice teacher’s library for many, many years, and generations of solo singers will recognize the familiar yellow book.  Expose your young choral singers to the depth of musical beauty in these classic pieces with one of these arrangements:

Danza Danza has been carefully arranged for 2-part treble choir by Audrey Snyder.  Both parts are expressive and fun to sing, making this rhythmical waltz ideal for concert, contest or festival performances.

The buoyant Gia il sole dal Gange will be enjoyed by treble choirs of all ages.  Evoking the imagery of a rollicking brook, it’s a great piece for working on vocal flexibility and agility with your group.

Earlene Rentz’s arrangement of Caro mio ben is perfect for younger SSA choirs.  Art song phrases inspire expressive “bel canto” singing, and the limited voice ranges are just right for developing singers.  Also available for 3-part mixed voices.

For SAB groups, try Christopher Matthews’ set of three Italian songs, Nel cor piu non mi sento, Alma del core, and Nina.  Thoughtful ranges and supportive piano accompaniments make this set a good fit for junior high or young high school ensembles.

Singing these songs with your choir is a great opportunity to introduce young musicians to art song literature and the wonderful marriage of music and text contained therein.  For more concert suggestions for your choir, please contact us.

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.”

GO BUCKS!!!

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.