I composed this song as a graduation present (in 2002) for a voice student of mine named Caleb Sjogren, an outstanding young man who I admired not only for his considerable talents but also for his kind heart and giving spirit. The song is meant to be sung on those occasions in life (such as
I composed this anthem for the Choral Arts Society of Southeastern Wisconsin (conducted by James Schatzman) for a concert consisting of various settings of the 'Gloria.' Not long before the commission, I had the pleasure of soloing with the group in a performance of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana," a wickedly difficult work- especially in its
This song of mine that has only been sung once - and I'm not sure it will ever be sung again because it was crafted for a very special occasion as a gigantic surprise for my sister-in-law, Polly. She missed a few weeks at Tremper High School because of the birth of her daughter/my
I composed "Great and Glorious Light" on Thanksgiving Day 1998 when my wife asked me to please not be underfoot while she finished preparing the evening's big meal. I ended up walking over to our church to play on the new Baldwin grand piano there, and quite unexpectedly I ended up writing a new piece
My song "Strength" was originally composed for SATB - but for my faculty recital in the fall of 2014, I decided to re-arrange it for men's voices so the guys in my voice student could join me - and that song proved to be perhaps the most exciting moment on the recital. For as well
Here is my arrangement of John Newton's great hymn- an arrangement which I initially did for th Chamber Singers back in the late 1990's. It was inspired in part by a beautiful picture book which presented black and white photo of a variety of abandoned churches, with the full text of Newton's hymn- all six
"Pace" is Italian for "peace." I composed this piece during the summer of 2001, and both my Chamber Singers at Carthage at my Senior Choir at Holy Communion sang it for that Christmas season, which happened to follow on the heels of 9-11. This piece has not yet been published, but you're welcome to contact
I wrote my song "Strength" in the fall of 2000, while I was serving as interim conductor of the Carthage Choir. The Carthage school year begins with a special New Student Convocation, and that particular year President Campbell was titling his address "Philosophers and Gladiators." (The film "Gladiator" had just come out.) He asked me
Well, I can’t say that it was quite as sensational as the night that Marilyn Monroe serenaded JFK, but eleven Carthage students and I did our part to make today a most memorable birthday for Carthage’s new president, Dr. Gregory Woodward. But it was a fun gig that very nearly did not happen at all.
