Blog Posts

Elementary Choral Music

Denise Gagne

Finding music for your elementary choir that will be a wonderful musical experience for the students, good performance piece for concerts, challenging but not too difficult, is always hard and takes a lot of time! In this newsletter, I want to highlight some of the pieces that I've used with Grade 3-5 choirs that has worked well for me. Where possible I've included YouTube links, because seeing a choir perform a piece well can be helpful in choosing material for your choirs.

Bubble Trouble by Stephen Lawrence, published Alfred is a fun selection with great choreography possibilities. Here’s a fun performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFMqfjtMPrc

Amani Utupe, Sally Albrecht, pub. Alfred I first used this when it was part of MENC Music Monday. Have used it many times since. It’s a great piece. This is a wonderful vocal performance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2844ORtcAo Other YouTube performances show the choreography.

Ghost Ship, from Reflections of a Lad at Sea, Don Besig. I've used this piece several times, getting a nomination to provincial finals with it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwPAyCtzKxA

Don Gato, Ray Doughty - Plymouth Music Co. Inc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eue6p8RdMX8 Don Gato, arranged by Ray Doughty, is a favorite Mexican folk song children love to sing. Doughty has written this song for two-part treble voices and piano.

For a lyrical ballad, A Wish for Peace is really nice. It was originally written for Christmas (A Christmas Wish), but only 3 words need to be changed and you can do it for any time of year. Instead of "this Christmas time" sing "all these things." Lovely performance here by York House School: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=cbRwA8qW6ZE By Denise Gagne and Craig Cassils

Humpty Dumpty by Dave and Jean Perry is fun - several choirs did it last year in our Symphony Kids concert last year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYmxVGDAnfU

Goliath, Joseph Martin is another fun favorite https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U_T9e7mHXI

Donkey Riding is a good fun selection - it's in Musicplay 3 (and a single song kit). BCMEA Honor choir performed it a few years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PDHkPq8Hdo

For a lyrical ballad, I'd suggest Two Canadian Folk Songs from Musicplay 4 - also available as a single song kit. http://shop.musicplaytext.ihoststores.com/productinfo...

When I Believe in Me, from Musicplay 5 is another really good message song for kids, from Musicplay 5 - very easy 2 part. http://shop.musicplaytext.ihoststores.com/productinfo...

Child of the Universe, Craig Cassils https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KxW_JYzj8I

Make a Difference, Denise Gagne - Musicplay 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGjlkIkQiVs This selection is in unison, and is easily learned by a primary choir. The message is meaningful even to young children - they can make a difference in the world. The included choreography enhances the performance of the song. It’s part of the Musicplay curriculum, and is available as a single song kit from Themes. (www.musicplay.ca - select country - select song collections - select single song kits) Single song kits include the piano/vocal score, vocal reproducible score, MP3s of performance and accompaniment, and if available a PPT or PDF projectable.

Siyahamba - Musicplay 6 This arrangement of the familiar South African hymn is given in Zulu and in English. I’ve performed this very successfully with a grade 4-5 choir, accompanied by drummers. It’s very appealing to the kids and audiences both. It’s part of the Musicplay curriculum, and is available as a single song kit from Themes. (www.musicplay.ca - select country - select song collections - select single song kits) Single song kits include the piano/vocal score, vocal reproducible score, MP3s of performance and accompaniment, and if available a PPT or PDF projectable.

Jabulani, South African, from the collection Celebrate Around the World Performance Video: https://youtu.be/xQjhhuVxq5I Jabulani is a Zulu word meaning “rejoice.” It is often used as a first name, and in that context is often shortened to “Jabu.” Although the word comes from Africa, the song could be used anywhere in the world - sort of a universal celebration. You could this song as your opening song for a multicultural concert or you could use the song to celebrate Heritage Day - a South African public holiday celebrated on September 24th. The performance is by a school in Ontario, and the looks on the children’s faces as they perform shows their love of the song. It really makes a connection with the audience. The song is available (print/download) in the collection Celebrate Around the World, and also can be made available as a single song kit. (not posted online as a single song kit yet - email denise@musicplay.ca to request it) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQjhhuVxq5I This will be continued in another newsletter - there is a wealth of wonderful choral music in Musicplay and in our reproducible choral collections, and it will take another newsletter to review all my recommendations!