Stevie In The 60's: SATB Choral Octavo

Mark Brymer has captured the soulful essence of Wonder's 1960s sound while writing for choral voices that actually want to sing it. The arrangements honor the originals' grooves and harmonic richness without requiring instrumental resources your choir may lack. Programming repertoire from this era signals to your students that great music lives everywhere, not just in classical and contemporary concert music.

These arrangements radiate the optimism and rhythmic buoyancy of the era while maintaining the vocal warmth that defines Wonder's songwriting. You hear the influence of gospel, Motown production sensibility, and the harmonic adventurousness of 1960s soul music woven together, creating performances that feel both joyful and musically substantive.

Directors programming secular concerts, pops concerts, or integrated seasons that celebrate American songwriting across genres. Choirs with singers who engage more readily with contemporary idioms will find immediate motivation in this material, while more traditional ensembles benefit from the stretch into rhythm and soul style.

• Study the original recordings before rehearsal. Hearing Wonder's phrasing, rhythmic flexibility, and vocal inflections will inform how your singers approach their parts and prevent a generic execution.
• Lock the rhythm section parts early. Layered rhythmic independence in these arrangements requires steady pulse and clear entrances from whoever carries the backbeat.
• Shape phrases according to the lyrical content rather than strict bar lines. Soul and pop singing demand flexibility with timing that classical training sometimes suppresses.
• Balance the soprano line carefully against accompaniment texture. These arrangements often feature busy harmonic writing underneath upper voices that need to project without forcing.

Place this collection in a program designed around American popular music, or use individual selections as palate cleansers between more formal repertoire in a mixed concert. The 15 pages suggest this works as a thematic set, showcasing how Stevie Wonder's artistry shaped popular song during a pivotal decade.

• Phrasing in soul and pop idioms
• Singing syncopated rhythms with precision
• Reading and executing complex harmonic progressions
• Balancing SATB independence within rhythmic grooves
• Understanding call and response textures
• Controlled vocal production in contemporary styles