All The Things You Are: SAB Choral Octavo

Mark Hayes' arrangement respects the harmonic sophistication that makes this standard a favorite of jazz musicians while making it genuinely accessible to SAB choirs. The three-part texture allows your singers to experience modulations and chromatic voice leading without overwhelming them, and Hayes has clearly thought about where voices can support each other versus where they need independence. Programming this alongside your more contemporary pieces signals to students that standards have both musical substance and pedagogical value.

Sophisticated and swinging, with the warmth of a jazz ballad. The arrangement breathes with the natural phrasing of a singer interpreting a standard, inviting your choir to inhabit the song rather than simply perform it.

SAB choirs looking for substantive standard material that bridges jazz history and choral pedagogy. This works for intermediate to advanced ensembles comfortable with chromatic harmony and modulation, or for groups performing a jazz or American songbook concert.

• Balance the melody line across whichever voice part carries it in each section; Hayes likely distributes the tune throughout, so resist the habit of always spotlighting sopranos.
• The harmonic language here rewards listening. Have singers hear the underlying changes during sectional rehearsals, even if they're not thinking about chord names consciously.
• Approach the modulations as structural moments rather than obstacles. Mark them in rehearsal and let singers feel the key shifts as compositional choices, not just written pitches.
• Record a piano reduction early in rehearsal so singers can internalize the melody and harmony away from rehearsal; this standard's appeal depends on knowing it deeply.

Feature this in a concert celebrating American songwriting, paired with other standards or contemporary works inspired by jazz idioms. It also pairs well with musical theater selections, offering your singers a chance to experience how standards differ from show tunes in structure and harmonic language.

• Reading and singing through key modulations
• Maintaining harmonic awareness across a three-part texture
• Phrasing and interpretation of jazz-influenced vocal lines
• Blend and balance in passages where the melody moves between voice parts
• Rhythmic independence from the accompaniment