My Flame The Song: SATB Choral Octavo

Intimate and reflective, with the kind of emotional directness that comes from clear melodic writing and honest harmony. The piece creates space for the text to resonate rather than overwhelming it with accompaniment texture.

Choirs preparing concert or festival repertoire who want something substantive without unnecessary complexity. This works for advanced high school and college ensembles with solid part independence and blend.

• Balance the soprano line carefully in passages where it carries the primary melody, especially when lower voices sustain harmonies beneath it.
• Work the text with deliberate phrasing choices early on; the emotional weight of this piece depends on where singers choose to breathe and shape phrases across the longer sections.
• Record a sectional rehearsal focusing on how the SATB parts interlock during transitions between verse and choral sections.
• Allow time for singers to hear how their individual parts function within the larger harmonic picture before running it full voicing.

Position this as a centerpiece in a concert devoted to contemporary secular choral works, or pair it strategically with pieces that share similar emotional terrain. Its 15-page scope makes it substantial enough to justify dedicated rehearsal time without dominating an entire program.

• Sustaining long phrases with consistent tone and breath support
• Listening for harmonic function across all four parts simultaneously
• Text interpretation and emotional communication through phrasing
• Independence within blend, keeping individual line integrity while maintaining ensemble cohesion