A Swingin' Christmas: Choral Octavo SoundTrax CD

Althouse brings decades of experience crafting singable, engaging choral music to this holiday collection. The swing idiom keeps the energy fresh and playful while the memorable melodies ensure your singers stay connected to the text and audience stays entertained. At just over four minutes, this works perfectly as a bright moment in a longer concert without demanding extensive rehearsal time.

Bright, swinging, and genuinely fun. The jazzy harmonies feel modern and sophisticated without losing the warmth and familiarity of the holiday melodies at their core. Your audience hears Christmas, but through a lens of rhythmic energy and harmonic playfulness that makes the familiar feel fresh.

Directors seeking a crowd-pleasing holiday piece that breaks the mold of traditional carols will find this trio an excellent fit for choirs of any experience level. This works equally well for middle school groups building confidence in contemporary styles and advanced ensembles looking to showcase vocal flexibility and rhythmic sophistication.

• Establish the swing feel early in rehearsal by locking the rhythm section into a relaxed backbeat; let your singers hear how the groove works before layering in harmonic complexity.
• Use the recorded accompaniment to nail ensemble precision, particularly where jazz voicings and syncopation create rhythmic ambiguity.
• Pay attention to vowel consistency across the jazzy articulations; swing style demands clarity without losing the smoothness that makes the arrangement shine.
• Shape each of the three songs distinctly so the medley breathes and each tune registers as its own moment rather than running together.

This medley works best as a palate cleanser between heavier or more traditional holiday numbers, offering an upbeat contrast that energizes the room. Consider programming it mid-concert to maintain momentum, or close your show with it if you want to send audiences out smiling. The recorded accompaniment makes it accessible even for groups with limited instrumental support.

• Reading and performing syncopated rhythms in a swing context
• Matching vowels and articulation in contemporary jazz-influenced voicings
• Responding to rhythmic accompaniment that emphasizes backbeat
• Interpreting stylistic articulation cues specific to swing and novelty arrangement