Starting Here, Starting Now (from the musical Starting Here, Starting Now): Choral SoundPax

John Leavitt's arrangement treats the piano as a full musical voice rather than mere accompaniment, which keeps rehearsals engaging and gives your accompanist real musicianship to develop. The flexibility to perform with or without the optional string bass and percussion parts means you can program this whether you're a chamber ensemble or a full concert choir.

Warm and intimate despite its theatrical origins, with the kind of sincerity that makes audiences lean in rather than settle back. The piano accompaniment gives the piece a jazz-inflected sophistication that feels both classic and fresh.

Any choir seeking a contemporary ballad with genuine emotional resonance for graduation or year-end concerts. The accessible vocal writing works for mixed ensembles at intermediate to advanced levels, and the arrangement scales beautifully whether you're working with a chamber choir or a full section.

• Spend rehearsal time on the piano-choir balance in the opening phrases. The accompaniment carries important harmonic color that shouldn't disappear under vocal lines.
• Shape the text naturally rather than pushing for volume. This song earns its emotional impact through vulnerability, not intensity.
• If using the string bass and percussion parts, have them enter gradually rather than all at once. Let the arrangement build organically from piano and voices.

This is an ideal closer for graduation ceremonies or spring concerts, especially when you want to acknowledge transitions and new beginnings without sentimentality. Pair it with other contemporary choral work to anchor a program, or feature it as a standalone moment of reflection between more energetic selections.

• Singing with clarity and restraint in contemporary vocal harmony
• Balancing with an active piano accompaniment
• Shaping sustained phrases over multiple measures
• Coordinating with optional instrumental parts (strings, bass, percussion)