Give Us Hope: 3-Part Mixed Choral Octavo

Nunez writes with a composer's ear for what makes 3-part mixed voicing work without feeling compromised. The piece sits comfortably across the range and still delivers the harmonic richness and emotional weight that gives choirs something meaningful to sink their teeth into. Programming this gives your singers real music, not a simplified version.

The piece carries warmth and sincerity without sentimentality. There's a sense of uplift woven through the harmonic language, with moments of introspection balanced against passages where the voices come together with clear purpose and brightness.

Middle school and high school choirs looking for contemporary repertoire with substance. This works equally well for festival programs, concert openers, or as part of a thematic set about resilience and human connection.

• Balance the texture by letting inner voices shine during their melodic moments rather than treating them as pure accompaniment throughout.
• Pay attention to how the arrangement distributes the main thematic material across the three parts; it shifts, and your singers need to track when the focus moves.
• The title signals the emotional core: find where hope emerges in the harmonic movement and shape phrases to let that moment land with intention.

Consider opening a concert with this piece; its hopeful character sets a generous tone for what follows. It also pairs naturally with other contemporary sacred or secular works that explore themes of community and shared vision.

• Balancing independent vocal lines in a 3-part texture
• Shaping phrases to support harmonic movement and emotional arc
• Singing with lyrical line through contemporary harmonic language
• Blending across sections while maintaining individual voice definition