Come see us at the
Oklahoma Choral Directors Association (OCDA) Summer Convention
July 12-14, 2015
University of Oklahoma Catlett Music Center
www.oklacda.org
We’ll have all reading session music on hand for purchase at the OCDA Summer Convention!
Reading session music for purchase.
Music for OCDA All-State packets.
The 2015-2016 TMEA All-State Choir music has been announced, and is available to order now!
Complete is priced from $22-$28,
Women’s is priced at $17-$23, and
Men’s is priced at $17-$23.
Take 10% off singles when ordering 10 or more copies per title by September 1, 2015. Order your packet online today, or give us a call:
Denton
800-772-5918
local 940-382-7124
Dallas
866-589-0751
local 972-818-1333
Heather Sorenson
In a Mixed-Publisher Church Choral Reading Session, the Hal Leonard Corporation and Pender’s Music Co. will present new fall and Christmas choral music. Heather Sorenson will also present new highlights from several other publishers—including Lorenz, Alfred, Shawnee Press, and Hope. Join in fellowship with others by participating with up to four members of your congregation (ex: director plus three). Registration includes complimentary music packet of most music presented and morning refreshments.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Quail Springs United Methodist Church
14617 N. Pennsylvania
Oklahoma City, OK 73134
Schedule:
8:30 Registration, Coffee and Donuts
9:00 Session Begins
10:30 Break, Refreshments
10:45 Session Continues
12:30 Session Over
Cost: $10 per person, includes music packet
Limit 4 per church (example: director plus 3)
TO REGISTER: Call John Staton at (800) 772-8405 or
e-mail John at jstaton@penders.com
Music on display for sale will include:
Christmas cantatas • vocal solos and duets • children’s choir books • handbell music • piano duet • piano • piano/organ duo • organ
We had the good fortune to speak with TMEA about the MSMISP grant program more in depth. They were very helpful in providing answers to some of your most frequently asked questions. We thought we would share what they had to say.
The Middle School Music Instructional Support Program (MSMISP) is a grant program from TMEA (Texas Music Educators Association) for 6-8th grade Choir, Orchestra and Band directors in Texas. It will provide $1,000 (yes, a full grand!) for sheet music to programs who are selected in the 2014 – 2015 school year. If you end up going over the grand TMEA will give you then your district will be billed for the difference. Penders is offering free shipping so you can make full use of your thousand without worry.
In order to qualify the director must have current membership with TMEA and teach at a Texas middle school. Applications may be submitted from September 15, 2014 to October 15, 2014. There is a total of $500,000 that will be allocated based on current funding and size of the program. So, if you want a snapshot of your program’s chances of getting this money, simply divide your budget by the number of students you have. If your dollar-per-student is lower than the state average you will have a great shot at getting a grant.
TMEA has told us that as of September 24, 2014there are only 230 applications filed, that means that even if you have a million dollars in the your budget you should still apply. There are currently 2,800 qualified campuses in Texas so odds are most of you haven’t even heard of this program. Even if you teach programs at multiple schools you can apply, the grant money is program specific not director specific. Even private school programs can get this money so you really have no reason not to apply.
Let’s get one thing straight, though, this music may only be used for sheet music designed for a full ensemble so you won’t be able to fund your next few years of solo and ensemble with this money. It also can’t be used for pop pieces such as show tunes or accompaniment CD’s. A limited number of sight-reading pieces will be acceptable in TMEA’s view. Finally, choral applications with less than 10 individual sheets per piece will be asked to bring that number up to an amount that can serve a choir rather than can be used for perusal. TMEA’s explicit goal is to place challenging music in front of every middle school choir, orchestra and band student in Texas.
Your application will need to be submitted with a quote from a qualified vendor that includes shipping (again, Penders has free shipping on all MSMISP quotes). TMEA will review each piece and let you know if something doesn’t work for the use of the money. If you get the grant the quote will then be sent back to the vendor who will fill your order will be paid directly from TMEA. They are considering allowing refunds and exchanges in extreme scenarios only but will be subject to an approval process at TMEA before they can be completed.
On their site TMEA has outlined some criteria to help you select music appropriate for this program.
Quickly they are:
If you were confused by some of these points don’t worry, so were we.
First, we asked what their definition of a significant composer was. They told us it is going to be anyone of historical or musical significance to include contemporary composers (think Tichelli, Whitacre and the like) and those doing Hollywood music (John Williams, Danny Elfman, Howard Shore and others). But again, NO POP.
In regards to the last point about relating to other genres, they said a piece would qualify under this condition if it could be related to another academic subject and specifically quoted ‘Of Sailors and Whales’ by Francis McBeth to relate to literature, ‘Solitary Dancer’ by Warren Benson to relate to dance and any piece with multiple time signatures or difficult rhythms to relate to math. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list so be creative when applying this one.
While these may seem restricting, TMEA has told us that anything on the UIL list that is appropriate for the average 6 – 8th grade ensemble will be fair game but they stressed that pieces grade 3 and above are their preference. This list is primarily meant to guide your selection of music outside the UIL list.
TMEA wants to work with you to provide your students with the best music education available. They will be reviewing each application personally and will do line by line acceptance of pieces rather than whole application rejection or acceptance. If something you selected is outside their expectations they will contact you. But feel free to contact TMEA or Penders with any questions or concerns you may have.
TMEA wants to give you $1000 in music and my barber always told me to never reject money more than once.
Get your application in now! Penders can help you do it. If you have any more questions then please email or call us (our information is below). You can also send us your list of music and we will return your proposal within one business day so you can get your application in quickly.
Pender’s Music Co
band@penders.com choir@penders.com orchestra@penders.com
1 (800) 772-5918
Join us this Saturday, January 12th from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm for our Sacred Reading workshop at the First Presbyterian Church in Edmond, OK.
Pianist, conductor, composer and clinician Joel Raney will introduce more than 40 new Easter and General Church Service titles for choir from the top sheet music publisher, including Alfred, Hal Leonard, Lorenz, and Shawnee Press.
Registration fee is $10 and includes refreshments (served at 8:30 am) and complimentary music packets including most of the titles presented.
For more information or to register, call Pender’s Music Company at (405) 842-7825 or (800) 772-8405 or email us at jstaton@penders.com
Companies large and small go in and out of business all the time, much like the ebb and flow of the tides each day. There is no sector of business immune to it, and sometimes there seems no rhyme or reason for it either. The business of sheet music is no different. Sheet music stores and sheet music publishers rise and fall, rise and fall, akin to a lilting melody in a song.
Some make it and some don’t. Take Carl Fischer sheet music, a tried-and-true music publisher that is celebrating 140 years of service this year to 1,400 sheet music retailers worldwide, Pender’s Music Co. being one of them. Consider this: when the founder of Carl Fischer first opened up for business, he didn’t sell sheet music at all. Carl Fischer, the business, was a musical instrument repair shop, and there is really little in common when comparing band instrument repair with the writing, designing, printing, publishing and distributing of a piece of sheet music.
But what about Southern Music Company, a business that was both a sheet music retailer and a music publisher, too? In February of this year, after 75 years of retailing and publishing, the San Antonio mainstay for music educators, performers and students everywhere closed its doors for good. Of course, it must be noted here that Lauren Keiser Music Publishing eventually took over the publishing division in June, but still, it’s the sign of the times — rise and fall, rise and fall.
Like Carl Fischer, Pender’s Music Co. is also celebrating an anniversary, albeit only 45 years and counting. And somewhat similar to them, our primary focus in the beginning wasn’t sheet music either. Think soda fountain, art supplies, school supplies and more (a little bit of music), sold right on campus to college students. But even more similar? The acceptance of change, and the willingness to adapt to it, with a little bit of risk-taking for good measure.
That’s what small business is best at. That’s what a family-owned business is best at: the germ of the idea, the drive to make it happen, the willingness to cut your losses when necessary, the stick-to-it-ive-ness to ride the rise and fall, the dare to dream big all over again.
And what does all of this have to do with music education, social media, and the digital age? Quite a lot. Over the past few days, we’ve seen the viral video of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” as arranged and performed by the 3Penny Chorus and Orchestra. The 3Penny Chorus and Orchestra is a volunteer pickup ensemble conducted by Arianne Abela, a choral music conductor and educator who graduated from Yale’s School of Music Masters Program in choral conducting in 2010. And Colin Britt, who arranged the music for the group, was one of her classmates. He is now on the faculty at the Hartt School of Music.
We’ve also seen Korean singer’s Psy “Gangnum Style” as performed by the Ohio University Marching Band. These classically trained musicians, educators and students have put their own spin on popular music of today and shared it via social media to millions of people. Brilliant! It’s certainly a positive spotlight on choir, orchestra, and marching band.
As music educators, music makers, and the companies that supply needed goods and services to them move forward, it will be important for everyone to try and adapt to the changes of how media and information is transmitted nowadays. Embracing technology and its power of connecting people to people and products and services to people will be vital to staying strong both in education and in business. Sheet music, just as recorded music and published books before it, is rapidly transforming itself into a more digital-friendly medium — point of purchase digital downloads, online score and part perusal, streaming sample audio, etc. But let’s not forget that the content — that piece of sheet music with the lilting melody — remains the same, and the value of it is truly immeasurable.
Browse the new Carl Fischer Concert Band titles for 2012: listen to recordings, view full scores, shop online!
If you live in the state of Texas, and you’re involved in music and education in the schools, then the two acronyms TX UIL and TX PML likely spill freely and frequently from your lips. And even if you’re not from Texas, but are involved in music education somewhere in this great country of ours, then you probably know what they mean, right? Just in case you don’t, though, here’s the information in a nutshell taken from the UIL home page: “The University Interscholastic League (UIL) exists to provide educational extracurricular academic, athletic, and music contests for schools in Texas.”
As it pertains to UIL music, of course, this includes marching band, concert band, full and string orchestra, both instrumental and vocal solo and ensemble, and choir. Solo and Ensemble music events in band, choir and orchestra are scheduled in 28 TX UIL Music Regions, and portions of the choral and instrumental sheet music to be performed must come from the Prescribed Music List (PML).
Hence, since the performance at least in part must come from the UIL music list that is not of your own making, the sheet music selection itself is a very important part of the process, because no individual soloist or music performance group wants to play sheet music that is either too easy or too difficult. Nor do they want to play from just any sheet music that is on the UIL music list. It needs to be sheet music that is specifically relevant to their group. Picking out what sheet music is to be played at a competition (or in essence, at a mini concert), is perhaps one of the most difficult parts of the TX UIL music process. That PML piece must be representative of the overall performance level of either that one person (in a solo), or the entire group of musicians involved. Because it’s all about the competition, right? Or is it?
Students want to earn that Division One Rating at the region competitions, so that they are eligible to advance to the TX UIL State Solo and Ensemble Contest that is traditionally hosted in Austin every year on Memorial Day Weekend. The annual trek is to Austin, because it was the University of Texas at Austin that created the TX UIL in first place in 1910. So consider that. What has grown into the largest inter-school organization of its kind in the world, has a more than one hundred year history, and the model from which it was created here in Texas is now emulated all over the country.
But is it really all for just the competition? Most certainly not. Yet in almost any music circle, you’ll find there is usually a constant debate about competition, its merits, and how it relates to music and the arts. There is a school of thought that since music and the arts are creative pursuits, why must competition or the participation in music contests be an integral part of it, particularly in the school classroom? It almost seems contradictory doesn’t it? Music | Creativity | Expression. What is competitive in that? How can you measure creativity? Expression?
Yet (again from the internet pages of the TX UIL), “the Music Program [specifically]…is designed to support and enrich the teaching of music as an integral component of the public school curriculum in the state of Texas.” Support…enrich…compete, too…and don’t forget to play or sing that choral octavo or instrumental sheet music as creatively and expressively as you can. Because luckily for us, UIL music and competition have and will continue to coexist beautifully together, because as anyone knows, the heart and soul of a school’s music organization is its concert ensemble, whether it be the top-level choral group, or the elite wind ensemble in the concert band program. It is by no coincidence at all that the best marching band programs are a direct reflection of the best concert bands; that the best a cappella choral groups are an extension of the premiere choir in the school; that the wind trios, brass quartets, and percussion ensembles that compete in the TX UIL music contests are usually formed from the top players of their respective programs.
So play on and compete. Seek and find the best band sheet music, choir sheet music, and instrumental sheet music which speak not only to you, but to your students as well. The time to do it is now. Christmas is right around the corner and the TX UIL music competitions will be here before you know it. Therefore, let the sheet music, competition and creativity collide, and trust Pender’s Music Co. to help you. The result will be worth it.
Helpful links:
Band PML | New Selections for 2011 | Texas UIL (slideshow)
New Texas UIL | PML Concert Band Additions for 2011-2012 (pdf)
Choral PML | New Selections for 2011 | Texas UIL (slideshow)
New Texas UIL | PML Choral Additions for 2011-2012 (pdf)
Orchestra PML | New Selections for 2011 | Texas UIL (slideshow)
New Texas UIL | PML Full & String Orchestra Additions for 2011-2012 (pdf)
Texas UIL | PML Vocal
Texas UIL | PML Instrumental
Texas UIL | PML String
|
For Choral Cache Thursday, here’s an article that was recently written for “Ledger Lines,” an e-newsletter that is produced by Alfred Publishing. It’s written by Michael Spresser, one of Alfred’s choral editors:
Arranging Today’s Pop Chorals |
|
| In the history of choral music, the arranging of popular music is still a relatively new phenomenon. Some of the earliest arrangements of popular songs of the day were developed in the 1930s, when Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians became one of the first ensembles known for singing ‘pop’ music. As you know, many of today’s current top pop songs are lyrically inappropriate, lack a strong melody, or the melody simply isn’t conducive to choral harmony.What does Alfred look for in a current pop choral arrangement? Many of the same things that are found in any successful choral composition:
– Does the melody stay within an appropriate range and tessitura for developing voices? – Does the arranger use the best voice-leading possible? In other words, do the parts move in a way that help a singer experience success? – Does the arrangement allow for proper and healthy vocal technique? – Does the arrangement replicate the sound of the original while allowing for solid choral harmony? – Does the arrangement encourage the building of listening skills and the teaching of basic musical concepts? – Does the accompaniment enhance, while still supporting, the choral parts? – Is the arrangement rhythmically accurate (true to the original), without being difficult to read? – Does the arrangement allow solo opportunities where appropriate? All of these questions, and more, are considered when we select our current pop arrangements. Arrangements that maintain choral integrity while also maintaining the style of the original are [some of the hallmarks] of Alfred publications. Check out some of their newest releases that were featured at our recent choral reading session event, Sing-a-bration! Alfred Choral Titles: Sampling from 2011
View more presentations from Pender’s Music Co..
*Content used by permission of Alfred Publishing Company. |
Greetings from Texas!
Were you able to attend Sing-a-bration in Lewisville, and want to make sure that you got the best-of-the-best for the upcoming school year? Or, were you unable to join us, and you’d like know what you missed?
Either way, here are some visuals from our recent event! First, check out our photo gallery (which is posted on Flickr, YouTube and Facebook, too). It’s always fun to see people in their element…!
Next, here are some resources posted just for you! Below are the 2011 Sing-a-bration titles that were highlighted at our recent workshop event at the Lewisville Convention Center (aka Hilton Garden Inn) in Lewisville, TX.
They’re presented as slide shows, session by session (Sing-a-bration Elementary, Sing-a-bration Secondary, Joy of Singing Elementay, Joy of Singing Middle School/High School, Joy of Worship w/ Multi-Pub Sacred Music Reading Session, and John Jacobson Choregraphy Workshop).
Simply browse through the slide shows (through www.slideshare.net/pendersmusicco). View each of the titles, and if you see one that you are interested in, click on the sheet music/cover image of it: You’ll then go directly to more information about it on our website.
To make a purchase, Add quantities to your Pender’s Online Shopping Cart, etc.
Don’t miss out! Now’s the time to stock up for FALL! And don’t forget to use the coupon code — Singabration — to get a 10% discount on your order
(through September 1st, 2011)
