Look to the Rainbow: SAB Choral Octavo

Jay Althouse's arrangement captures the warmth and optimism of Lane's original without overwhelming a three-part choir. The Irish character feels organic rather than forced, and the piece sits comfortably for mixed voices across a range of ability levels. This is the kind of arrangement that feels singable in rehearsal and rewarding in performance.

Sunny and hopeful, with a hint of folk charm. The melody has the infectious quality you'd expect from a Broadway standard, and Althouse's arrangement brings out the brightness of the piece without losing its underlying warmth. Singing this lifts the room.

This arrangement works for mixed choirs ranging from high school to community and adult groups. The SAB voicing accommodates developing singers while still offering satisfying harmonic texture, and the uplifting character makes it appealing across age groups.

• Lean into the lilt; let the rhythm breathe rather than pushing too hard. The charm lives in a relaxed, conversational delivery.
• Balance the harmony so the roots of each chord are audible. SAB voicing can muddy if the lowest voice gets buried.
• Shape the text naturally, following the contour of the melody rather than forcing uniform phrasing across all three parts.

Pair this with other uplifting secular pieces for a spring or year-end concert that celebrates ensemble joy. The Broadway provenance also makes it a natural fit for a musical theatre-themed program or a pops concert.

• Singing in three-part SAB voicing with clear harmonic awareness
• Maintaining rhythmic lift and conversational phrasing in a lilting meter
• Balancing blend across parts while keeping text intelligible