I Hear America Singing!: Bells: Choral SoundPax
Arr. Sally K. Albrecht and Jay Althouse
Item: 00-PC-0000760_B
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Description
Parts included are: Fr. horn, 2 tpt., 2 tbn., tuba, timp., snare, bells/chimes
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, I Hear America Singing!: Bells: Choral SoundPax comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.
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Additional Details
Series:
Alfred Choral Designs
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
36
SKU:
00-PC-0000760_B
Instrumentation:
Fr. horn, 2 tpt., 2 tbn., tuba, timp., snare, bells/chimes
More about this title
About the Arranger: Sally K. Albrecht
Sally K. Albrecht has shaped American choral education for over four decades as a composer, conductor, and clinician with a distinctive focus on choral movement and kinesthetic learning. A consistent ASCAP award recipient since 1987, she has authored more than 600 choral works and 75 full-length musicals and songbooks currently in publication. She has conducted honor choirs at major venues including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and The Kennedy Center, and spent over thirty years directing school choral and vocal publications for leading educational music publishers, culminating in her role at Alfred Music.
Albrecht holds degrees from Rollins College (B.A. in Music and Theater, 1976), the University of Miami (M.A. in Drama, 1977; M.M. in Accompanying, 1979), and has taught at Oakland University, Jersey City State College, and Meredith College. She currently resides in Wake Forest, North Carolina, with her husband and frequent collaborator, composer-arranger Jay Althouse. Among her honors are the Distinguished Alumna Award from both Rollins College and the University of Miami Frost School of Music (2021) and the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society's "Pillar of Leadership" award.
Why we love this
This arrangement captures the patriotic fervor of Whitman's text while giving your choir a full instrumental palette that transforms the piece from a simple choral work into a genuine celebration. The orchestration respects choral priorities (the voices remain front and center) while the brass and percussion writing energizes without overwhelming, making it equally effective for summer concerts, Fourth of July programs, or any occasion calling for spirited American repertoire.
What to expect
Spirited and declarative, with a sense of forward momentum that builds as the arrangement unfolds. The blend of choral voices, brass sonorities, and percussion color creates an energetic, celebratory atmosphere that feels both accessible and musically substantial.
Who it's for
Choir directors working with high school or community choirs seeking substantial patriotic repertoire that includes attractive instrumental parts. This works well for conductors who want to program a piece with real harmonic and textural interest without requiring advanced reading skills from singers or musicians.
How to get the most out of it
- Balance the choir's unison and harmony lines against a relatively dense brass section by assigning voices strategically to the strongest sections and drilling phrase entrances separately before full ensemble rehearsals.
- Work the percussion parts early, especially the timpani and snare, which anchor the rhythmic vitality throughout; even modest percussion players will benefit from isolated sectional time on their parts.
- Use the recorded accompaniment during sectional rehearsals to build confidence in your singers' parts while you focus on blend and diction with individual voice groups.
- Shape dynamics as a complete ensemble by conducting the instrumental parts as actively as the choir; the brass will follow a clear gesture, and the choir will respond to the energy you project.
How to use it
Position this as the centerpiece of a summer or patriotic concert, or open a concert with it to establish an uplifting tone. It pairs naturally with other American-themed repertoire and works especially well for community celebrations, school assemblies, or outdoor summer concerts where a confident, joyful statement makes a strong impression.
Skills your students will build
- Reading and singing with mixed unison and harmonic textures in a patriotic style
- Balancing voice parts in ensemble with prominent brass and percussion accompaniment
- Sustaining musical energy across longer phrases with dynamic shaping
- Coordinating with instrumental musicians in a chamber-sized ensemble setting