Laus Deo!: SSA Choral Octavo

Leavitt crafts pieces that sit comfortably for SSA voicing while maintaining engaging harmonic language and textural variety. The writing feels fresh without demanding undue technical prowess, making it genuinely rewarding for singers to perform and audiences to hear.

Warmth and sincerity infuse the writing; this is music that celebrates without sentimentality. The sound is transparent enough that you hear every voice, yet harmonically rich enough to feel substantial and moving.

This octavo suits intermediate to advanced high school and college choirs, as well as community ensembles seeking concert repertoire with substance. Directors programming a secular concert will find it a strong, unpretentious choice that showcases good singing without excessive arrangement gimmicks.

• Pay attention to voice leading between parts; Leavitt often uses suspended figures that need clarity and breath control to land properly.
• Balance your soprano sections carefully if you have uneven strength across the two parts; the duet moments expose any thinness quickly.
• Shape phrases by thinking through the arch of the text rather than just the melodic line; the meaning carries the music forward most effectively.

Consider this as an anchor piece for a concert focused on contemporary American choral writing, or pair it with other Leavitt works to showcase his compositional range. It works equally well as a festival selection or part of a mixed repertoire program where you want music that lands clearly and resoundingly.

• Voice independence in SSA textures
• Harmonic awareness and vertical listening
• Phrase shaping with attention to text meaning
• Blend and balance across multiple soprano parts