2023 Choral Spectrum - Curated Series

As a busy festival conductor, Richard Bjella felt a need for input into the repertoire available for singers aspiring to grow during these special, large group experiences. His new series addresses this need and is especially suitable for colleges and advanced community groups.

Judith Clurman is currently on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, Associate Conductor of the New York Pops orchestra, and prepares choirs for The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parades. Her choral series is designed for advanced high school and developing collegiate and community choral programs. Her passion to bring Jewish music to the concert stage through her “Rejoice: Honoring the Jewish Spirit” has been an inspiration to countless choirs and directors.

Rollo Dilworth has been a part of the Hal Leonard family for more than 20 years. He has been a guest conductor and clinician in nearly every state in America and around the world. His work at Temple University is preparing students to be successful as teachers, and his music is always focused on making teachers and students successful at every level. The music selected is for upper high school and all-conference/allstate choirs.

Craig Hella Johnson is often referred to as “America’s Renaissance Man.” As pianist, singer, composer, and conductor of Conspirare and TED talk presenter, Craig brings a broad set of skills to his important series designed for upper-level high school singers and above.

The music of Francisco Nuñez seamlessly fuses a wide gamut of cultures and musical idioms. He often incorporates styles from his native Dominican Republic, but his many compositions and arrangements incorporate all musical formats and styles, from classical to pop. As founder and artistic director of Young People’s Chorus of New York City, many of his compositions and arrangements are written for this award-winning organizations.

Jonathan Palant is Associate Dean of the Arts and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Texas at Dallas. He is the founder and conductor of the Credo Community Choir and the Dallas Street Choir, a musical outlet for those affected by homelessness. Recently, Musical America named him one of their “Innovators of the Year” for his work. Jonathan’s initial publication with Hal Leonard was his book “Brothers, Sing On! Conducting the Tenor Bass Choir.” His series contains music for mixed voices as well as for young men.

Andrea Ramsey is one of America’s leading composers and arrangers of music for singers at every level. Along with her understanding of the voice, Andrea strives to include texts that are socially relevant and speak to singers in meaningful ways. The music included in this series is for high school singers.

Eugene Rogers is the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and artistic director of the Washington Chorus and Orchestra in Washington D.C. He serves as the National Chair of Diversity for ACDA and is artistic director of the Exigence Choir.

Exigence is a second series curated by Eugene Rogers. The music in this series is written by Black or Latinx composers. It is primarily non-idiomatic and intended for the concert stage.

Composer Jim Papoulis believes that music can heal, educate, celebrate, and empower the lives of young people. Positive messages and world rhythms are signatures of the music in this series.

Carrie Tennant is the artistic director of the Vancouver Youth Choir. Carrie and her singers were a sensation at the ACDA National Conference in Kansas City. Those in attendance, along with the hundreds of thousands who follow the choir on social media, have sought the “out of the box” repertoire regularly performed by this ensemble. The music selected is for community youth choirs, from easy unison through high school level.

For every music educator, from pre-school through post-graduate, we know the opportunity to develop the whole person is right in front of us each and every day. The Hal Leonard Voices In Harmony choral series is designed to offer resources to help you do just that. Detailed lesson plans that are appropriate for all levels. SEL competencies and their intersections with arts education standards are explained and outlined for easy access. Videos from the composers are included on the Hal Leonard website to give insight into both the music and the lyrics, and how everything intersects with the students as they develop their whole person. A QR code taking teachers and students directly to the resources is included in every octavo. Engaging in Social Emotional teaching and learning will help to develop students musically, socially, and emotionally. This series is focused on music for the classroom—elementary through easy high school.