Audition (The Fools Who Dream): SATB Choral Octavo

This arrangement captures the raw vulnerability of the original while giving your choir a moment of genuine emotional weight. The piece resists sentimentality through its harmonic clarity and honest lyrical setting, making it substantial enough for serious choirs while remaining singable and rewarding for students. Programming it signals that your ensemble takes contemporary repertoire seriously.

The music unfolds with quiet determination, honoring the vulnerability of someone's unshakeable belief in possibility. Hurwitz's harmonic language creates moments of unexpected beauty and yearning, especially in the suspended chords that hang just long enough to feel the weight of hope. There's dignity in the melody, never maudlin, always reaching.

Choirs at the intermediate to advanced level looking for contemporary secular repertoire with emotional depth. This works for high school choirs, community ensembles, and college groups seeking pieces that connect with modern audiences while offering genuine musical substance.

• Shape the opening phrases with breath and space rather than legit; let silence serve the introspection of the text. The music gains power through restraint.
• Balance the inner voices carefully, especially where the altos and tenors carry harmonic interest. These aren't background parts; they need clarity without pushing through the sopranos.
• Emphasize the rhythmic precision at transitions between sections. Small ensemble moments can feel loose if the rhythm section (alto and bass lines) doesn't lock together first.
• Work the final measures slowly in rehearsal. The ending requires control of both dynamic shape and harmonic resonance to land with the intended impact.

Place this in a concert alongside contrasting repertoire to give it breathing room and emphasize its emotional distinctiveness. It works beautifully as a ballad moment between faster selections, or as a closing piece that leaves the audience in reflection. Consider pairing it with other contemporary film-based choral music or art songs for a thematic concert exploring dreams and aspiration.

• Singing suspended and extended harmonic structures with accuracy
• Balancing parts in SSA and TTB texture moments within a four-part setting
• Sustaining legit tone through longer phrases with minimal breath
• Interpreting contemporary song form and lyrical phrasing
• Building ensemble resonance without sacrificing individual vocal clarity