America (The New Colossus): SATB Choral Octavo
America (The New Colossus) Sheet Music Preview

America (The New Colossus): SATB Choral Octavo

By Tom Fettke / By Thomas Grassi

Item: 35-DS00278360
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$2.65
Description

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Additional Details
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Page Count: 5
SKU: 35-DS00278360

More about this title

About the Composer: Tom Fettke

Tom Fettke

Tom Fettke spent over five decades composing and arranging choral music for worship and educational settings, building a catalog of hundreds of published works. His influence on American sacred and school choral music runs deep: The Majesty and Glory of Your Name alone is performed by thousands of choirs annually, and he served as creator and senior editor of The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration, which has distributed over three million copies since 1986.

Fettke's foundation in music education came from his classroom experience in California's public schools and his three decades directing choirs in churches of all sizes. He earned degrees from Oakland City College and California State University at Hayward, and held a California Lifetime Music Credential in Secondary Music. His work as Director of Choral Activities for the Redwood Christian School System and senior editor of The Celebration Hymnal demonstrates his commitment to creating practical, singable music that serves real musical communities.

Why we love this

Fettke and Grassi have set Emma Lazarus's powerful words with genuine emotional weight rather than bombast, allowing the text to sing naturally within an SATB framework that remains accessible to high school and community choirs. The five-page length keeps rehearsal time reasonable while the patriotic theme gives you a meaningful concert piece that connects to American identity without feeling didactic.

What to expect

Dignified and reflective, this setting honors the idealism woven through Lazarus's words without resorting to bombast or heavy orchestration. There's an earnest quality here: the music believes in what it's singing about, creating space for your singers to connect with the message.

Who it's for

High school and college choirs, community choirs, and church choirs seeking repertoire with serious lyrical content and straightforward SATB voicing. Directors who want a patriotic work that respects both the text and their singers' abilities will find this arrangement genuine and performable.

How to get the most out of it

  • Shape the phrases around the text rather than forcing the melody into regular 4-bar units. Lazarus's language breathes, so let your singers respond to the meaning of each phrase.
  • Balance the inner voices carefully during homophonic sections. Tenors and altos often carry harmonic color that can disappear if only the sopranos and basses are projecting.
  • Consider the dynamic arc across the entire piece before rehearsal begins. Mark it in your score so singers understand where they're building toward emotional climax and where they're pulling back.

How to use it

Use this as a concert centerpiece for a spring or fall program exploring American themes and values. It pairs well alongside folk song arrangements or civil rights era music, and works equally effectively in a patriotic concert or a more reflective program about identity and belonging.

Skills your students will build

  • Phrasing around text meaning rather than harmonic rhythm
  • Inner voice independence in four-part harmony
  • Dynamic shaping across longer musical arcs
  • Connecting emotional content to musical expression

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