Esta Es el Tiempo (This Is the Time): Choral SoundPax

Althouse builds genuine cultural authenticity into his choral writing without sacrificing accessibility. The bilingual blend and integrated instrumental parts create natural opportunities for students to experience how language, rhythm, and ensemble sound interact, while the recorded accompaniment and movement suggestions give you concrete tools to keep rehearsals moving forward.

Fresh and propulsive, with the sizzle that comes from mixing Spanish-language rhythmic vitality with English pop sensibility. The piece invites movement and joy; it sounds modern but maintains the clarity and singability that define Althouse's approach to choral writing.

High school and advanced middle school choirs seeking a piece that delivers multicultural relevance, rhythmic energy, and real instrumentation without oversimplifying the musical content. The SoundPax format (choir plus winds and rhythm) makes it ideal for choirs with access to a school band or small instrumental ensemble.

• Lock the Spanish lyrical phrasing with your rhythm section early; the horn parts anchor the groove, so ensure your instrumentalists understand the percussion's feel before adding the choir.
• Work the English and Spanish passages separately first, then layer them together. Students often rush the language switch, so isolate those transitions and drill them as rhythmic units.
• Use the recorded accompaniment to establish the groove in the earliest rehearsals, then gradually remove it so the choir can internalize the pulse without depending on playback.
• Plan staging during your first full run-through with the recording. Movement and staging are listed as special features; blocking early prevents confusion and reinforces phrasing choices.

Slot this as a concert brightener in a program that balances classical and contemporary work, or anchor a multicultural concert segment around it. The combination of choir and instrumental parts makes it equally at home in a spring pops concert or a music department collaboration where band students support choral performance.

• Code-switching between Spanish and English text with rhythmic accuracy
• Syncopated rhythm reading in a popular music idiom
• Listening and blending with a small instrumental ensemble
• Interpretation of movement and staging cues integrated with vocal lines
• Sense of groove and pocket in a contemporary, non-classical context